Schaf
[ʃaːf]
The verdict
“Schaf” has 7 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #11,743. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #11,743
- frequency rank, German
- 8,027
- “S” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Paarhufer, der als Lieferant für Wolle, Fleisch und Milch dient
Corpus desk
Index DE-schaf · Schaf · German
Schaf · rank #11,743 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #11,743
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 8,027
- PHOTO-FINISH Schinken
Nearest frequency peer: Schinken (+1 rank slots)
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “Schaf”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- REX
REX
88,262 corpus weight
- riesiger
riesiger
88,261 corpus weight
- rückgängig
rückgängig
88,260 corpus weight
- Schaf
Schaf
88,258 corpus weight
- Schinken
Schinken
88,257 corpus weight
- schrittweise
schrittweise
88,254 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “Schaf” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Schaf |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ʃaːf] |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #11,743 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Schaf” sits in German frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around Schaf (IPA [ʃaːf]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,743 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Schaf, with forms such as "cshaf", "scahf", and "scchaf". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sha", "Shaw", "schön", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is Schaf, spelled S-C-H-A-F.
Definition
- 1Paarhufer, der als Lieferant für Wolle, Fleisch und Milch dient
- 2gutmütiger, dummer Mensch; Dummkopf
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how Schaf appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Der Hirte hütet seine Schafe.
Schlaf, Kindchen, schlaf / Dein Vater hüt’ die Schaf - (Schlaflied)
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- cshaf
- scahf
- scchaf
- schfa
- schhaf
- shcaf
- sschaf
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Schaf - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "Schaf"?
What does "Schaf" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Schaf"?
How do you pronounce "Schaf"?
What language does "Schaf" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar German words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Schaf", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "Schaf". Here's where to go from here.
- "Schaf" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "sha". View pair
- 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #11,743 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more German words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.