steckevsStücksConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#16,004
“stecke” frequency rank
#22,525
“Stücks” frequency rank
38529
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stecke Stücks
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stecken Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Stück

Where the eye mixes stecke and Stücks

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. stecke (CCVCCV) and Stücks (CCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
stecke
6 ch
Stücks

Look-alike desk: stecke vs Stücks

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stecke is [ˈʃtɛkə] while Stücks is [ʃtʏks]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38529, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stecke is recorded at frequency rank #16,004, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛkə]. Stücks is at rank #22,525, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtʏks].

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 38529, this pair ranks #1,561,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of stecke vs Stücks

Shared letters: ckst. Private to "stecke": e. Private to "Stücks": ü.

"stecke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Stücks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stecke ← setcke · sstecke · stceke · steccke · stecek · steckke · stekce · sttecke

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "stecke" for "Stücks" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "stecke" is a verb and "Stücks" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "stecke" or "Stücks"?
"stecke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,004 in our German list, against #22,525 for "Stücks". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "stecke" and "Stücks" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "stecke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stücks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,561,549 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stecke" and "Stücks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stücks vs stunts". 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 #1,561,549 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