SchiffvsSchiffeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,819
“Schiff” frequency rank
#3,770
“Schiffe” frequency rank
5589
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schiff Schiffe
Definition großes Wasserfahrzeug (in der Regel mit über 10 m Rumpflänge, sonst ist es ein Boot) flüssiges Ausscheidungsprodukt der Harnblase

Where the eye mixes Schiff and Schiffe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Schiff
7 ch
Schiffe

Visual trap between Schiff and Schiffe

A purely visual mix-up. Schiff ([ʃɪf]) and Schiffe ([ˈʃɪfə]) 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) - “Schiff” sits inside “Schiffe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schiff is recorded at frequency rank #1,819, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃɪf]. 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 5589, this pair ranks #1,994,298 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schiff vs Schiffe

Shared letters: cfhis. Private to "Schiff": -. Private to "Schiffe": e.

"Schiff" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC  ·  "Schiffe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schiffcshiff · scchiff · schfif · schhiff · schif · scihff · shciff · sschiff
  • Schiffecshiffe · scchiffe · schfife · schhiffe · schife · schifef · scihffe · shciffe

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Schiff" and "Schiffe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃɪf] versus [ˈʃɪfə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schiff" vs "Schiffe" - which ranks higher?
"Schiff" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,819 in our German list, against #3,770 for "Schiffe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schiff" 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 #1,994,298 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schiff" and "Schiffe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schiffe vs Schläfe". 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 #1,994,298 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