Which to use
“schaffe” and “schaffte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,232
- “schaffe” frequency rank
- #5,528
- “schaffte” frequency rank
- 11760
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schaffe | schaffte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schaffen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schaffen |
Where the eye mixes schaffe and schaffte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schaffe and schaffte
A purely visual mix-up. schaffe ([ˈʃafə]) and schaffte ([ˈʃaftə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11760, 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]. schaffte is at rank #5,528, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaftə].
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 11760, this pair ranks #1,968,061 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schaffe vs schaffte
Shared letters: acefhs. Private to "schaffe": -. Private to "schaffte": t.
"schaffe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV · "schaffte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schaffe" and "schaffte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schaffe" or "schaffte" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schaffe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schaffte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,968,061 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schaffe" and "schaffte" 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 #1,968,061 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.