Schäfer

[ˈʃɛːfɐ]

/[ˈʃɛːfɐ]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Schäfer” has 11 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #6,971. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,971
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Beruf, der sich erwerbsmäßig mit dem Halten und Züchten von Schafen beschäftigt

Corpus desk

Index DE-schafer · Schäfer · German

Schäfer · rank #6,971 · 11 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,971
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Schädel

Nearest frequency peer: Schädel (-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.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „Schäfer“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „Schäfer“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Schäfer vs Schar
57% similar
Schäfer vs scher
57% similar
Schäfer vs schwer
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Schäfer
PropertyValue
HeadwordSchäfer
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈʃɛːfɐ]
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,971
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „Schäfer“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).Schäferliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Schädel“ (#6,970), „Sehenswürdigkeiten“ (#6,972), „scheiterte“ (#6,969). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „Schäfer“ bei #6,971. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Schäfer (IPA [ˈʃɛːfɐ]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,971 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Schäfer, with forms such as "cshäfer", "scchäfer", and "schfäer". 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, "Schar", "scher", "schwer", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is Schäfer, spelled S-C-H-Ä-F-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Beruf, der sich erwerbsmäßig mit dem Halten und Züchten von Schafen beschäftigt
  2. 2
    Person, die dieser Tätigkeit nachgeht

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Schäfer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Der Schäfer hütet mit Hilfe seiner Hunde die Schafe.
  2. „Wäre er doch Schäfer geblieben wie seine Vorfahren, dann wäre das alles nicht geschehen.“

Synonyms

SchäfereiverwalterSchafhüterSchafhirteSchafzüchter

This word in other languages

shepherd(English)pastor(Español)berger(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cshäfer
  • scchäfer
  • schfäer
  • schhäfer
  • schäefr
  • schäferr
  • schäffer
  • schäfre
  • scähfer
  • shcäfer
  • sschäfer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Schäfer - 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.

cshäfer2scchäfer1schfäer2schhäfer1schäefr2schäferr1schäffer1schäfre2
Edit distance from "Schäfer"

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Schäfer"?
"Schäfer" is spelled S-C-H-Ä-F-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃɛːfɐ].
What does "Schäfer" mean?
As a noun, "Schäfer" means: Beruf, der sich erwerbsmäßig mit dem Halten und Züchten von Schafen beschäftigt
What words are commonly confused with "Schäfer"?
"Schäfer" is commonly confused with "Schar", "scher", "schwer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Schäfer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Schäfer" is [ˈʃɛːfɐ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Schäfer" come from?
"Schäfer" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Schäfer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Schädel#6,970Spanier#6,975Musical#6,959Moschee#6,958

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

männlich11 variantsMarburg11 variantsVictoria11 variantsMangels11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list