Which to use
“seufzen” is a verb and “Stufen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,776
- “seufzen” frequency rank
- #6,008
- “Stufen” frequency rank
- 43784
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seufzen | Stufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | hörbar und heftig ein- und ausatmen, als Zeichen starker Gefühle wie Kummer, Erleichterung oder Resignation | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Stufe |
Where the eye mixes seufzen and Stufen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. seufzen runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against Stufen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between seufzen and Stufen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: seufzen is [ˈzɔɪ̯ft͡sn̩] while Stufen is [ˈʃtuːfn̩]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43784, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seufzen is recorded at frequency rank #37,776, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯ft͡sn̩]. Stufen is at rank #6,008, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtuːfn̩].
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 43784, this pair ranks #1,407,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of seufzen vs Stufen
Shared letters: efnsu. Private to "seufzen": z. Private to "Stufen": t.
"seufzen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "Stufen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "seufzen" and "Stufen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "seufzen" or "Stufen"?
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 "seufzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stufen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,407,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seufzen" and "Stufen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seufzen vs Seufzer". 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 #1,407,091 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.