sichervsStichenConfusable pair

Quick tell: sicher is a adjective, Stichen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sicher” is an adjective and “Stichen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#270
“sicher” frequency rank
#43,512
“Stichen” frequency rank
43782
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sicher Stichen
Definition vor Gefahren geschützt Dativ Plural des Substantivs Stich

Where the eye mixes sicher and Stichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sicher runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Stichen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
sicher
7 ch
Stichen

Why the eye confuses sicher with Stichen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sicher is [ˈzɪçɐ] while Stichen is [ˈʃtɪçn̩]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sicher is recorded at frequency rank #270, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɪçɐ]. 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 43782, this pair ranks #1,407,157 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sicher vs Stichen

Shared letters: cehis. Private to "sicher": r. Private to "Stichen": nt.

"sicher" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Stichen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sicher ← ischer · sciher · siccher · sicehr · sicherr · sichher · sichre · sihcer
  • Stichen ← sitchen · sstichen · stcihen · sticchen · sticehn · stichenn · stichhen · stichne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sicher" for "Stichen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sicher" is an adjective and "Stichen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sicher" or "Stichen"?
"sicher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #270 in our German list, against #43,512 for "Stichen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "sicher" 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 #1,407,157 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sicher" 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 #1,407,157 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