schafft vs schläfst, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#1,708
“schafft” frequency rank: #22,876
“schläfst” frequency rank: 24584
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	schafft	schläfst
Definition	3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schaffen	2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schlafen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schafft and schläfst apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

schafft

8 ch

schläfst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. schafft ([ʃaft]) and schläfst ([ʃlɛːfst]) 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 24584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schafft is recorded at frequency rank #1,708, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃaft]. schläfst is at rank #22,876, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃlɛːfst].

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 24584, this pair ranks #1,845,559 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schafft vs schläfst

Shared letters: cfhst. Private to "schafft": a. Private to "schläfst": lä.

"schafft" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC · "schläfst" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

schafft ← cshafft · scahfft · scchafft · schafftt · schaftf · schfaft · schhafft · shcafft

Frequency comparison

schafft#1,708

schläfst#22,876

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schafft" and "schläfst" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ʃaft] versus [ʃlɛːfst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "schafft" or "schläfst"?

"schafft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,708 in our German list, against #22,876 for "schläfst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering schafft vs schläfst

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schafft” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable