Which to use
“schaffe” is a verb and “schaue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,232
- “schaffe” frequency rank
- #4,228
- “schaue” frequency rank
- 10460
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schaffe | schaue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schaffen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schau |
Where the eye mixes schaffe and schaue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: schaffe vs schaue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schaffe is [ˈʃafə] while schaue is [ʃaʊ̯ə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10460, 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]. schaue is at rank #4,228, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃaʊ̯ə].
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 10460, this pair ranks #1,975,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schaffe vs schaue
Shared letters: acehs. Private to "schaffe": f. Private to "schaue": u.
"schaffe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV · "schaue" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schaffe" for "schaue" ever safe?
Which is more common, "schaffe" or "schaue"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schaffe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schaue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,975,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schaffe" and "schaue" 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 #1,975,014 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.