Which to use
“schaffen” and “schämen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #691
- “schaffen” frequency rank
- #7,663
- “schämen” frequency rank
- 8354
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schaffen | schämen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas künstlerisch oder handwerklich erzeugen | Scham empfinden |
Where the eye mixes schaffen and schämen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schaffen with schämen
A purely visual mix-up. schaffen ([ˈʃafn̩]) and schämen ([ˈʃɛːmən]) 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 8354, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schaffen is recorded at frequency rank #691, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃafn̩]. schämen is at rank #7,663, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛːmən].
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 8354, this pair ranks #1,984,612 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schaffen vs schämen
Shared letters: cehns. Private to "schaffen": af. Private to "schämen": mä.
"schaffen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "schämen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schaffen ← cshaffen · scahffen · scchaffen · schafefn · schaffenn · schaffne · schfafen · schhaffen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schaffen" and "schämen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "schaffen" or "schämen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "schaffen" and "schämen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "schaffen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schämen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,984,612 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schaffen" and "schämen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schämen vs schrien". 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 #1,984,612 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.