StäbevsStammTell them apart

Which to use

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

#35,472
“Stäbe” frequency rank
#5,765
“Stamm” frequency rank
41237
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stäbe Stamm
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Stab Teil des Baumes zwischen Wurzel und Krone

Where the eye mixes Stäbe and Stamm

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

5 ch
Stäbe
5 ch
Stamm

Why the eye confuses Stäbe with Stamm

A purely visual mix-up. Stäbe ([ˈʃtɛːbə]) and Stamm ([ʃtam]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41237, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stäbe is recorded at frequency rank #35,472, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɛːbə]. Stamm is at rank #5,765, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtam].

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 41237, this pair ranks #1,485,388 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Stäbe vs Stamm

Shared letters: st. Private to "Stäbe": beä. Private to "Stamm": am.

"Stäbe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Stamm" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stammsatmm · sstamm · stam · stmam · sttamm · tsamm

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Stäbe" for "Stamm" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɛːbə] versus [ʃtam]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Stäbe" vs "Stamm" - which ranks higher?
"Stamm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,765 in our German list, against #35,472 for "Stäbe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Stäbe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stamm" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,485,388 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stäbe" and "Stamm" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stäbe vs Stuben". 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 #1,485,388 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