stechenvsStrichenTell them apart

Quick tell: stechen is a verb, Strichen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“stechen” is a verb and “Strichen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,986
“stechen” frequency rank
#40,866
“Strichen” frequency rank
50852
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stechen Strichen
Definition einen spitzen Gegenstand wie eine Nadel in einen anderen Gegenstand treiben Dativ Plural des Substantivs Strich

Where the eye mixes stechen and Strichen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
stechen
8 ch
Strichen

Look-alike desk: stechen vs Strichen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stechen is [ˈʃtɛçn̩] while Strichen is [ˈʃtʁɪçn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50852, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stechen is recorded at frequency rank #9,986, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛçn̩]. Strichen is at rank #40,866, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁɪçn̩].

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 50852, this pair ranks #1,157,910 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of stechen vs Strichen

Shared letters: cehnst. Private to "stechen": -. Private to "Strichen": ir.

"stechen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Strichen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stechensetchen · sstechen · stcehen · stecchen · stecehn · stechenn · stechhen · stechne
  • Strichensrtichen · sstrichen · stirchen · strcihen · stricchen · stricehn · strichenn · strichhen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "stechen" for "Strichen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "stechen" is a verb and "Strichen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "stechen" or "Strichen"?
"stechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,986 in our German list, against #40,866 for "Strichen". 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 "stechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Strichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,157,910 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stechen" and "Strichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Strichen vs strippen". 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 #1,157,910 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