SkatvsStauTell them apart

Which to use

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

#44,227
“Skat” frequency rank
#7,819
“Stau” frequency rank
52046
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Skat Stau
Definition Kartenspiel für drei Personen, bei dem in jeder Runde ein Spieler bestimmt wird, der gegen die beiden anderen spielt durch eine Behinderung oder ein Hindernis verursachte Störung des Durchflusses oder Durchgangs; Nomen acti: Ergebnis des Stauens

Where the eye mixes Skat and Stau

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Skat (CCVC) and Stau (CCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Skat
4 ch
Stau

Visual trap between Skat and Stau

A purely visual mix-up. Skat ([skaːt]) and Stau ([ʃtaʊ̯]) 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 52046, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Skat is recorded at frequency rank #44,227, classified as anoun, pronounced [skaːt]. Stau is at rank #7,819, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtaʊ̯].

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 52046, this pair ranks #1,112,075 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Skat vs Stau

Shared letters: ast. Private to "Skat": k. Private to "Stau": u.

"Skat" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Stau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Skat ← ksat · sakt · skatt · skkat · skta · sskat
  • Stau ← satu · sstau · sttau · stua · tsau

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Skat" and "Stau" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([skaːt] versus [ʃtaʊ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Skat" vs "Stau" - which ranks higher?
"Stau" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,819 in our German list, against #44,227 for "Skat". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Skat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,112,075 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Skat" and "Stau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Skat vs Späth". 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 #1,112,075 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