Which to use
“straf” is a verb and “Strafe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,307
- “straf” frequency rank
- #2,557
- “Strafe” frequency rank
- 32864
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | straf | Strafe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs strafen | Sanktion, wegen Fehlverhalten erhaltene Reaktion |
Where the eye mixes straf and Strafe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between straf and Strafe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: straf is [ʃtʁaːf] while Strafe is [ˈʃtʁaːfə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “straf” sits inside “Strafe”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
straf is recorded at frequency rank #30,307, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃtʁaːf]. Strafe is at rank #2,557, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaːfə].
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 32864, this pair ranks #1,698,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of straf vs Strafe
Shared letters: afrst. Private to "straf": -. Private to "Strafe": e.
"straf" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC · "Strafe" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "straf" for "Strafe" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "straf" or "Strafe" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "straf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Strafe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,698,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "straf" and "Strafe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "straf vs Streu". 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 #1,698,374 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.