Which to use
“Sem” is a noun and “STK” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,785
- “Sem” frequency rank
- #42,155
- “STK” frequency rank
- 71940
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Sem | STK |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleinster, nicht weiter zerlegbarer Bestandteil der Bedeutung eines Wortes oder Morphems | Stanice Technické Kontroly |
Where the eye mixes Sem and STK
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. Sem (CVC) and STK (CCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Sem with STK
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Sem is [zeːm] while STK is [ɛs.tɛː.kaː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Sem is recorded at frequency rank #29,785, classified as anoun, pronounced [zeːm]. STK is at rank #42,155, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ɛs.tɛː.kaː].
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 71940, this pair ranks #402,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Sem vs STK
Shared letters: s. Private to "Sem": em. Private to "STK": kt.
"Sem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "STK" · 3 letters · shape CCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Sem" for "STK" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Sem" vs "STK" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Sem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "STK" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #402,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Sem" and "STK" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs STK". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #402,385 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.