SpamvsStabConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#9,454
“Spam” frequency rank
#9,269
“Stab” frequency rank
18723
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spam Stab
Definition Gesamtheit aller unerwünschter, oft gehäuft abgesendeter Nachrichten (meist für Werbezwecke, ohne Themenbezug) länglicher zylindrischer Gegenstand

Where the eye mixes Spam and Stab

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Spam
4 ch
Stab

Why the eye confuses Spam with Stab

A purely visual mix-up. Spam ([spɛm]) and Stab ([ʃtaːp]) 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 18723, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spam is recorded at frequency rank #9,454, classified as anoun, pronounced [spɛm]. Stab is at rank #9,269, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtaːp].

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 18723, this pair ranks #1,915,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spam vs Stab

Shared letters: as. Private to "Spam": mp. Private to "Stab": bt.

"Spam" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Stab" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spampsam · sapm · spamm · spma · sppam · sspam
  • Stabsatb · sstab · stabb · stba · sttab · tsab

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Spam" and "Stab" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([spɛm] versus [ʃtaːp]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Spam" or "Stab"?
"Stab" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,269 in our German list, against #9,454 for "Spam". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Spam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stab" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,915,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spam" and "Stab" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spam 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 #1,915,507 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