schaffevsschätzeTell them apart

Which to use

“schaffe” and “schätze” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,232
“schaffe” frequency rank
#3,682
“schätze” frequency rank
9914
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schaffe schätze
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schaffen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schätzen

Where the eye mixes schaffe and schätze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

7 ch
schaffe
7 ch
schätze

Why the eye confuses schaffe with schätze

A purely visual mix-up. schaffe ([ˈʃafə]) and schätze ([ˈʃɛt͡sə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9914, 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]. schätze is at rank #3,682, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛt͡sə].

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 9914, this pair ranks #1,977,674 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schaffe vs schätze

Shared letters: cehs. Private to "schaffe": af. Private to "schätze": tzä.

"schaffe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "schätze" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schaffecshaffe · scahffe · scchaffe · schafef · schfafe · schhaffe · shcaffe · sschaffe

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schaffe" and "schätze" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃafə] versus [ˈʃɛt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schaffe" or "schätze"?
"schätze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,682 in our German list, against #6,232 for "schaffe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "schätze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,977,674 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schaffe" and "schätze" 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 #1,977,674 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list