schielevsSchiffeConfusable pair

Quick tell: schiele is a verb, Schiffe is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schiele” is a verb and “Schiffe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,389
“schiele” frequency rank
#3,770
“Schiffe” frequency rank
42159
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schiele Schiffe
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schielen flüssiges Ausscheidungsprodukt der Harnblase

Where the eye mixes schiele and Schiffe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
schiele
7 ch
Schiffe

Visual trap between schiele and Schiffe

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schiele is [ˈʃiːlə] while Schiffe is [ˈʃɪfə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schiele is recorded at frequency rank #38,389, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃiːlə]. 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 42159, this pair ranks #1,457,822 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schiele vs Schiffe

Shared letters: cehis. Private to "schiele": l. Private to "Schiffe": f.

"schiele" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCV  ·  "Schiffe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schielecshiele · scchiele · scheile · schhiele · schieel · schielle · schilee · scihele
  • Schiffecshiffe · scchiffe · schfife · schhiffe · schife · schifef · scihffe · shciffe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schiele" for "Schiffe" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schiele" is a verb and "Schiffe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "schiele" vs "Schiffe" - which ranks higher?
"Schiffe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,770 in our German list, against #38,389 for "schiele". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schiele" 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 #1,457,822 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schiele" and "Schiffe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schiele 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 #1,457,822 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