SpitzevsStützeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,570
“Spitze” frequency rank
#16,562
“Stütze” frequency rank
18132
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spitze Stütze
Definition der oberste, schmal zulaufende Teil eines Gegenstandes oder einer Formation Bauteil, der Teile eines Gebäudes trägt

Where the eye mixes Spitze and Stütze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Spitze and Stütze follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
Spitze
6 ch
Stütze

Why the eye confuses Spitze with Stütze

A purely visual mix-up. Spitze ([ˈʃpɪt͡sə]) and Stütze ([ˈʃtʏt͡sə]) 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 18132, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spitze is recorded at frequency rank #1,570, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɪt͡sə]. Stütze is at rank #16,562, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʏt͡sə].

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 18132, this pair ranks #1,921,098 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spitze vs Stütze

Shared letters: estz. Private to "Spitze": ip. Private to "Stütze": ü.

"Spitze" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Stütze" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spitze ← psitze · siptze · spitez · spittze · spitzze · spizte · sppitze · sptize

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Spitze" and "Stütze" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpɪt͡sə] versus [ˈʃtʏt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Spitze" vs "Stütze" - which ranks higher?
"Spitze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,570 in our German list, against #16,562 for "Stütze". 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 "Spitze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stütze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,921,098 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spitze" and "Stütze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stuten vs Stütze". 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 #1,921,098 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