Which to use
“schaffen” and “schuften” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #691
- “schaffen” frequency rank
- #32,256
- “schuften” frequency rank
- 32947
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schaffen | schuften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas künstlerisch oder handwerklich erzeugen | hart/schwer arbeiten |
Where the eye mixes schaffen and schuften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schaffen and schuften follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: schaffen vs schuften
A purely visual mix-up. schaffen ([ˈʃafn̩]) and schuften ([ˈʃʊftn̩]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32947, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schaffen is recorded at frequency rank #691, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃafn̩]. schuften is at rank #32,256, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃʊftn̩].
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 32947, this pair ranks #1,696,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schaffen vs schuften
Shared letters: cefhns. Private to "schaffen": a. Private to "schuften": tu.
"schaffen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC · "schuften" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schaffen" and "schuften" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schaffen" or "schuften" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "schaffen" and "schuften" 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 "schuften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,696,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schaffen" and "schuften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schöffen vs schuften". 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 #1,696,659 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.