Which to use
“Stachel” and “Stacheln” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,784
- “Stachel” frequency rank
- #30,785
- “Stacheln” frequency rank
- 61569
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Stachel | Stacheln |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | spitzes Pflanzenteil, Auswuchs des Rindengewebes | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Stachel |
Where the eye mixes Stachel and Stacheln
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Stachel runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against Stacheln's 8 (CCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Stachel and Stacheln
A purely visual mix-up. Stachel ([ˈʃtaxl̩]) and Stacheln ([ˈʃtaxl̩n]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Stachel” sits inside “Stacheln”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61569, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Stachel is recorded at frequency rank #30,784, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtaxl̩]. Stacheln is at rank #30,785, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtaxl̩n].
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 61569, this pair ranks #744,876 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Stachel vs Stacheln
Shared letters: acehlst. Private to "Stachel": -. Private to "Stacheln": n.
"Stachel" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "Stacheln" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Stachel" for "Stacheln" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Stachel" vs "Stacheln" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Stachel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stacheln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #744,876 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Stachel" and "Stacheln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sacher vs Stachel". 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 #744,876 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.