Which to use
“Sachen” is a noun and “stechen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #709
- “Sachen” frequency rank
- #9,986
- “stechen” frequency rank
- 10695
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Sachen | stechen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Sache | einen spitzen Gegenstand wie eine Nadel in einen anderen Gegenstand treiben |
Where the eye mixes Sachen and stechen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Sachen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against stechen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Sachen vs stechen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Sachen is [ˈzaxn̩] while stechen is [ˈʃtɛçn̩]. 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 10695, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Sachen is recorded at frequency rank #709, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzaxn̩]. stechen is at rank #9,986, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛçn̩].
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 10695, this pair ranks #1,973,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Sachen vs stechen
Shared letters: cehns. Private to "Sachen": a. Private to "stechen": t.
"Sachen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "stechen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Sachen" for "stechen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Sachen" vs "stechen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Sachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stechen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,973,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Sachen" and "stechen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Speichen vs stechen". 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 #1,973,809 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.