SeuchenvsStichenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,445
“Seuchen” frequency rank
#43,512
“Stichen” frequency rank
78957
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Seuchen Stichen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Seuche Dativ Plural des Substantivs Stich

Where the eye mixes Seuchen and Stichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Seuchen (CVVCCVC) and Stichen (CCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
Seuchen
7 ch
Stichen

Why the eye confuses Seuchen with Stichen

A purely visual mix-up. Seuchen ([ˈzɔɪ̯çn̩]) and Stichen ([ˈʃtɪçn̩]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78957, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Seuchen is recorded at frequency rank #35,445, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯çn̩]. Stichen is at rank #43,512, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɪçn̩].

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 78957, this pair ranks #226,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Seuchen vs Stichen

Shared letters: cehns. Private to "Seuchen": u. Private to "Stichen": it.

"Seuchen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "Stichen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Seuchen ← esuchen · secuhen · seucchen · seucehn · seuchenn · seuchhen · seuchne · seuhcen
  • Stichen ← sitchen · sstichen · stcihen · sticchen · sticehn · stichenn · stichhen · stichne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Seuchen" for "Stichen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzɔɪ̯çn̩] versus [ˈʃtɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Seuchen" vs "Stichen" - which ranks higher?
"Seuchen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,445 in our German list, against #43,512 for "Stichen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Seuchen" and "Stichen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Seuchen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #226,843 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Seuchen" and "Stichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stichen vs Stilen". 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 #226,843 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