SteckervssteckteConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#14,420
“Stecker” frequency rank
#9,273
“steckte” frequency rank
23693
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stecker steckte
Definition Vorrichtung mit einem oder mehreren heraustretenden Stiften zur Herstellung einer elektrischen Verbindung 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stecken

Where the eye mixes Stecker and steckte

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

7 ch
Stecker
7 ch
steckte

Visual trap between Stecker and steckte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Stecker is [ˈʃtɛkɐ] while steckte is [ˈʃtɛktə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stecker is recorded at frequency rank #14,420, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɛkɐ]. steckte is at rank #9,273, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛktə].

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 23693, this pair ranks #1,857,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stecker vs steckte

Shared letters: cekst. Private to "Stecker": r. Private to "steckte": -.

"Stecker" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "steckte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Steckersetcker · sstecker · stceker · steccker · stecekr · steckerr · steckker · steckre
  • stecktesetckte · ssteckte · stcekte · stecckte · stecket · steckkte · stecktte · stectke

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Stecker" for "steckte" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Stecker" is a noun and "steckte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Stecker" vs "steckte" - which ranks higher?
"steckte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,273 in our German list, against #14,420 for "Stecker". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stecker" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "steckte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,857,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stecker" and "steckte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stecker vs steter". 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 #1,857,889 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