Which to use
“schiefe” is an adjective and “Schiffe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,268
- “schiefe” frequency rank
- #3,770
- “Schiffe” frequency rank
- 37038
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schiefe | Schiffe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs schief | flüssiges Ausscheidungsprodukt der Harnblase |
Where the eye mixes schiefe and Schiffe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schiefe with Schiffe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schiefe is [ˈʃiːfə] while Schiffe is [ˈʃɪfə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “schiefe” becomes f in “Schiffe”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schiefe is recorded at frequency rank #33,268, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃiːfə]. Schiffe is at rank #3,770, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪfə].
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 37038, this pair ranks #1,600,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schiefe vs Schiffe
Shared letters: cefhis. Private to "schiefe": -. Private to "Schiffe": -.
"schiefe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCV · "Schiffe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schiefe" for "Schiffe" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "schiefe" or "Schiffe" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schiefe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schiffe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,600,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schiefe" and "Schiffe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schiefe vs Schmiere". 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 #1,600,380 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.