SpulevsStufeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#31,801
“Spule” frequency rank
#2,997
“Stufe” frequency rank
34798
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spule Stufe
Definition Rolle, die mit einem Faden umwickelt ist meist einzelner Teil einer Treppe, der zum Höher- oder Tiefersteigen dient, Trittfläche

Where the eye mixes Spule and Stufe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Spule
5 ch
Stufe

Look-alike desk: Spule vs Stufe

A purely visual mix-up. Spule ([ˈʃpuːlə]) and Stufe ([ˈʃtuːfə]) 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 34798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spule is recorded at frequency rank #31,801, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpuːlə]. Stufe is at rank #2,997, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtuːfə].

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 34798, this pair ranks #1,655,030 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spule vs Stufe

Shared letters: esu. Private to "Spule": lp. Private to "Stufe": ft.

"Spule" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Stufe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spulepsule · splue · sppule · spuel · spulle · sspule · suple
  • Stufesstufe · stfue · sttufe · stuef · stuffe · sutfe · tsufe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Spule" for "Stufe" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpuːlə] versus [ˈʃtuːfə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Spule" or "Stufe"?
"Stufe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,997 in our German list, against #31,801 for "Spule". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Spule" and "Stufe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Spule" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stufe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,655,030 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spule" and "Stufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "skull vs Spule". 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 #1,655,030 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