stammtenvsstemmenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,754
“stammten” frequency rank
#20,417
“stemmen” frequency rank
36171
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stammten stemmen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stammen etwas Schweres in die Höhe heben

Where the eye mixes stammten and stemmen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. stammten runs 8 letters (CCVCCCVC) against stemmen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
stammten
7 ch
stemmen

Visual trap between stammten and stemmen

A purely visual mix-up. stammten ([ˈʃtamtn̩]) and stemmen ([ˈʃtɛmən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stammten is recorded at frequency rank #15,754, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtamtn̩]. stemmen is at rank #20,417, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛmən].

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 36171, this pair ranks #1,622,234 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of stammten vs stemmen

Shared letters: emnst. Private to "stammten": a. Private to "stemmen": -.

"stammten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC  ·  "stemmen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stammten ← satmmten · sstammten · stammetn · stammtenn · stammtne · stammtten · stamten · stamtmen
  • stemmen ← setmmen · sstemmen · stememn · stemen · stemmenn · stemmne · stmemen · sttemmen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "stammten" and "stemmen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtamtn̩] versus [ˈʃtɛmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "stammten" vs "stemmen" - which ranks higher?
"stammten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,754 in our German list, against #20,417 for "stemmen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "stammten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stemmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,622,234 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stammten" and "stemmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stemmen vs stemmt". 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 #1,622,234 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