Which to use
“Schläfer” is a noun and “schläft” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,967
- “Schläfer” frequency rank
- #5,531
- “schläft” frequency rank
- 52498
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Schläfer | schläft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Person, die schläft, die sich im Schlafzustand befindet | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schlafen |
Where the eye mixes Schläfer and schläft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Schläfer and schläft
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Schläfer is [ˈʃlɛːfɐ] while schläft is [ʃlɛːft]. 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 52498, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Schläfer is recorded at frequency rank #46,967, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃlɛːfɐ]. schläft is at rank #5,531, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃlɛːft].
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 52498, this pair ranks #1,094,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Schläfer vs schläft
Shared letters: cfhlsä. Private to "Schläfer": er. Private to "schläft": t.
"Schläfer" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCVC · "schläft" · 7 letters · shape CCCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Schläfer" for "schläft" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Schläfer" or "schläft" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Schläfer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schläft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,094,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Schläfer" and "schläft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schläfe vs Schläfer". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,094,385 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.