Which to use
“schaffe” and “schafft” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,232
- “schaffe” frequency rank
- #1,708
- “schafft” frequency rank
- 7940
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schaffe | schafft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schaffen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schaffen |
Where the eye mixes schaffe and schafft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schaffe with schafft
A purely visual mix-up. schaffe ([ˈʃafə]) and schafft ([ʃaft]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - e in “schaffe” becomes t in “schafft”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schaffe is recorded at frequency rank #6,232, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃafə]. schafft is at rank #1,708, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃaft].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 7940, this pair ranks #1,986,252 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schaffe vs schafft
Shared letters: acfhs. Private to "schaffe": e. Private to "schafft": t.
"schaffe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV · "schafft" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schaffe" and "schafft" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "schaffe" or "schafft" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "schaffe" and "schafft" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schaffe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schafft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,986,252 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schaffe" and "schafft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schaffe vs Schläfe". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,986,252 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.