StausvsStrassWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,322
“Staus” frequency rank
#31,283
“Strass” frequency rank
54605
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Staus Strass
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Stau Imitation eines Diamanten aus bleihaltigem Glasfluss mit starker Lichtbrechung

Where the eye mixes Staus and Strass

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Staus
6 ch
Strass

Look-alike desk: Staus vs Strass

A purely visual mix-up. Staus ([ʃtaʊ̯s]) and Strass ([ʃtʁas]) 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 54605, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Staus is recorded at frequency rank #23,322, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtaʊ̯s]. Strass is at rank #31,283, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtʁas].

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 54605, this pair ranks #1,012,295 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Staus vs Strass

Shared letters: ast. Private to "Staus": u. Private to "Strass": r.

"Staus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "Strass" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Staussatus · sstaus · stasu · stauss · stuas · tsaus
  • Strasssrtass · sstrass · straß · strrass · strsas · sttrass · tsrass

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Staus" and "Strass" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtaʊ̯s] versus [ʃtʁas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Staus" vs "Strass" - which ranks higher?
"Staus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,322 in our German list, against #31,283 for "Strass". 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 "Staus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Strass" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,012,295 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Staus" and "Strass" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Strass vs stresst". 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 #1,012,295 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