schläfstvsschlägstTell them apart

Which to use

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

#22,876
“schläfst” frequency rank
#31,776
“schlägst” frequency rank
54652
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schläfst schlägst
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schlafen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schlagen

Where the eye mixes schläfst and schlägst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. schläfst and schlägst follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
schläfst
8 ch
schlägst

Look-alike desk: schläfst vs schlägst

A purely visual mix-up. schläfst ([ʃlɛːfst]) and schlägst ([ʃlɛːkst]) 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 - f in “schläfst” becomes g in “schlägst”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schläfst is recorded at frequency rank #22,876, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃlɛːfst]. schlägst is at rank #31,776, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃlɛːkst].

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 54652, this pair ranks #1,010,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schläfst vs schlägst

Shared letters: chlstä. Private to "schläfst": f. Private to "schlägst": g.

"schläfst" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC  ·  "schlägst" · 8 letters · shape CCCCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "schläfst" for "schlägst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃlɛːfst] versus [ʃlɛːkst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "schläfst" or "schlägst" show up more?
"schläfst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,876 in our German list, against #31,776 for "schlägst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "schläfst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlägst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,010,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schläfst" and "schlägst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schläfer vs schläfst". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,010,446 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