sachtvsstichtWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sacht is a adjective, sticht is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sacht” is an adjective and “sticht” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,102
“sacht” frequency rank
#13,948
“sticht” frequency rank
56050
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sacht sticht
Definition sehr schwach ausgeprägt oder auch sehr langsam und deshalb kaum zu merken 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stechen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sacht and sticht apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
sacht
6 ch
sticht

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sacht is [zaxt] while sticht is [ʃtɪçt]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56050, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sacht is recorded at frequency rank #42,102, classified as anadj, pronounced [zaxt]. sticht is at rank #13,948, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtɪçt].

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 56050, this pair ranks #955,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sacht vs sticht

Shared letters: chst. Private to "sacht": a. Private to "sticht": i.

"sacht" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "sticht" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sachtascht · saccht · sachht · sachtt · sacth · sahct · scaht · ssacht
  • stichtsitcht · ssticht · stciht · sticcht · stichht · stichtt · sticth · stihct

Frequency comparison

sacht#42,102
sticht#13,948

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sacht" and "sticht" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sacht" is an adjective and "sticht" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sacht" or "sticht"?
"sticht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,948 in our German list, against #42,102 for "sacht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sacht vs sticht

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “sacht”; for a verb, it's “sticht”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sacht” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list