SeuchevsStückeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Seuche” and “Stücke” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,545
“Seuche” frequency rank
#3,079
“Stücke” frequency rank
19624
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Seuche Stücke
Definition Infektionskrankheit, die in der Form einer Epidemie oder in der Form einer Pandemie bei Mensch oder Tier auftritt Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Stück

Where the eye mixes Seuche and Stücke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Seuche (CVVCCV) and Stücke (CCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Seuche
6 ch
Stücke

Look-alike desk: Seuche vs Stücke

A purely visual mix-up. Seuche ([ˈzɔɪ̯çə]) and Stücke ([ˈʃtʏkə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Seuche is recorded at frequency rank #16,545, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯çə]. Stücke is at rank #3,079, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʏkə].

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 19624, this pair ranks #1,906,343 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Seuche vs Stücke

Shared letters: ces. Private to "Seuche": hu. Private to "Stücke": ktü.

"Seuche" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "Stücke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Seuche ← esuche · secuhe · seucche · seuceh · seuchhe · seuhce · sseuche · sueche

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Seuche" and "Stücke" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzɔɪ̯çə] versus [ˈʃtʏkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Seuche" or "Stücke"?
"Stücke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,079 in our German list, against #16,545 for "Seuche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Seuche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stücke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,906,343 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Seuche" and "Stücke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Seuche vs Seuchen". 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 #1,906,343 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list