SchläfevsschläfstWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#46,966
“Schläfe” frequency rank
#22,876
“schläfst” frequency rank
69842
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schläfe schläfst
Definition der Bereich zwischen Ohr und Auge, auf dem man beim Schlafen liegt 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schlafen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Schläfe and schläfst apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Schläfe
8 ch
schläfst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schläfe is [ˈʃlɛːfə] while schläfst is [ʃlɛːfst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69842, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schläfe is recorded at frequency rank #46,966, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlɛːfə]. schläfst is at rank #22,876, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃlɛːfst].

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 69842, this pair ranks #464,315 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Schläfe vs schläfst

Shared letters: cfhlsä. Private to "Schläfe": e. Private to "schläfst": t.

"Schläfe" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCV  ·  "schläfst" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC

Frequency comparison

Schläfe#46,966
schläfst#22,876

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schläfe" and "schläfst" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Schläfe" is a noun and "schläfst" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Schläfe" or "schläfst"?
"schläfst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,876 in our German list, against #46,966 for "Schläfe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Schläfe vs schläfst

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Schläfe”; for a verb, it's “schläfst”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Schläfe” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list