Which to use
“stade” is an adjective and “Stufe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,485
- “stade” frequency rank
- #2,997
- “Stufe” frequency rank
- 18482
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stade | Stufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs stad | meist einzelner Teil einer Treppe, der zum Höher- oder Tiefersteigen dient, Trittfläche |
Where the eye mixes stade and Stufe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses stade with Stufe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stade is [ˈʃtaːdə] while Stufe is [ˈʃtuːfə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18482, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stade is recorded at frequency rank #15,485, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaːdə]. 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 18482, this pair ranks #1,917,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stade vs Stufe
Shared letters: est. Private to "stade": ad. Private to "Stufe": fu.
"stade" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "Stufe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "stade" and "Stufe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "stade" or "Stufe"?
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 "stade" 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 #1,917,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stade" and "Stufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sake vs stade". 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 #1,917,773 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.