SchiffevsSchiffsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,770
“Schiffe” frequency rank
#21,413
“Schiffs” frequency rank
25183
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schiffe Schiffs
Definition flüssiges Ausscheidungsprodukt der Harnblase Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Schiff

Where the eye mixes Schiffe and Schiffs

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

7 ch
Schiffe
7 ch
Schiffs

Look-alike desk: Schiffe vs Schiffs

A purely visual mix-up. Schiffe ([ˈʃɪfə]) and Schiffs ([ʃɪfs]) 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 a single letter - e in “Schiffe” becomes s in “Schiffs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25183, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schiffe is recorded at frequency rank #3,770, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃɪfə]. Schiffs is at rank #21,413, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃɪfs].

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 25183, this pair ranks #1,836,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schiffe vs Schiffs

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

"Schiffe" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV  ·  "Schiffs" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schiffecshiffe · scchiffe · schfife · schhiffe · schife · schifef · scihffe · shciffe
  • Schiffscshiffs · scchiffs · schfifs · schhiffs · schiffss · schifs · schifsf · scihffs

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Schiffe" for "Schiffs" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃɪfə] versus [ʃɪfs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Schiffe" vs "Schiffs" - which ranks higher?
"Schiffe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,770 in our German list, against #21,413 for "Schiffs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Schiffe" and "Schiffs" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schiffe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schiffs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,836,982 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schiffe" and "Schiffs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schiffs vs Schilf". 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 #1,836,982 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