schafftenvsschätztenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#15,989
“schafften” frequency rank
#46,268
“schätzten” frequency rank
62257
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schafften schätzten
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schaffen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs schätzen

Where the eye mixes schafften and schätzten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. schafften and schätzten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
schafften
9 ch
schätzten

Visual trap between schafften and schätzten

A purely visual mix-up. schafften ([ˈʃaftn̩]) and schätzten ([ˈʃɛt͡stn̩]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schafften is recorded at frequency rank #15,989, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃaftn̩]. schätzten is at rank #46,268, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃɛt͡stn̩].

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 62257, this pair ranks #719,591 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schafften vs schätzten

Shared letters: cehnst. Private to "schafften": af. Private to "schätzten": zä.

"schafften" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC  ·  "schätzten" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schafften ← cshafften · scahfften · scchafften · schaffetn · schafftenn · schafftne · schafftten · schaften

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schafften" and "schätzten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaftn̩] versus [ˈʃɛt͡stn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "schafften" or "schätzten" show up more?
"schafften" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,989 in our German list, against #46,268 for "schätzten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schafften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schätzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #719,591 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schafften" and "schätzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schätzten vs schützte". 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 #719,591 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list