SprachenvsStrichenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,941
“Sprachen” frequency rank
#40,866
“Strichen” frequency rank
42807
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sprachen Strichen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Sprache Dativ Plural des Substantivs Strich

Where the eye mixes Sprachen and Strichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
Sprachen
8 ch
Strichen

Visual trap between Sprachen and Strichen

A purely visual mix-up. Sprachen ([ˈʃpʁaːxən]) and Strichen ([ˈʃtʁɪçn̩]) 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 42807, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sprachen is recorded at frequency rank #1,941, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpʁaːxən]. Strichen is at rank #40,866, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁɪçn̩].

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 42807, this pair ranks #1,437,858 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Sprachen vs Strichen

Shared letters: cehnrs. Private to "Sprachen": ap. Private to "Strichen": it.

"Sprachen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Strichen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Sprachenpsrachen · sparchen · spprachen · spracchen · spracehn · sprachenn · sprachhen · sprachne
  • Strichensrtichen · sstrichen · stirchen · strcihen · stricchen · stricehn · strichenn · strichhen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Sprachen" for "Strichen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpʁaːxən] versus [ˈʃtʁɪçn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Sprachen" or "Strichen"?
"Sprachen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,941 in our German list, against #40,866 for "Strichen". 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 "Sprachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Strichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,437,858 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Sprachen" and "Strichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Strichen vs strippen". 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 #1,437,858 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