Which to use
“schaffte” and “schafften” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,528
- “schaffte” frequency rank
- #15,989
- “schafften” frequency rank
- 21517
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schaffte | schafften |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schaffen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schaffen |
Where the eye mixes schaffte and schafften
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schaffte with schafften
A purely visual mix-up. schaffte ([ˈʃaftə]) and schafften ([ˈʃaftn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “schaffte” sits inside “schafften”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schaffte is recorded at frequency rank #5,528, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaftə]. schafften is at rank #15,989, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaftn̩].
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 21517, this pair ranks #1,885,359 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schaffte vs schafften
Shared letters: acefhst. Private to "schaffte": -. Private to "schafften": n.
"schaffte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV · "schafften" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schaffte" and "schafften" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "schaffte" vs "schafften" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schaffte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schafften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,885,359 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schaffte" and "schafften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schafften vs schätzten". 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 #1,885,359 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.