SteckervsStückenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#14,420
“Stecker” frequency rank
#8,289
“Stücken” frequency rank
22709
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stecker Stücken
Definition Vorrichtung mit einem oder mehreren heraustretenden Stiften zur Herstellung einer elektrischen Verbindung Dativ Plural des Substantivs Stück

Where the eye mixes Stecker and Stücken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Stecker
7 ch
Stücken

Why the eye confuses Stecker with Stücken

A purely visual mix-up. Stecker ([ˈʃtɛkɐ]) and Stücken ([ˈʃtʏkn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22709, 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]. Stücken is at rank #8,289, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʏkn̩].

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 22709, this pair ranks #1,870,743 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stecker vs Stücken

Shared letters: cekst. Private to "Stecker": r. Private to "Stücken": .

"Stecker" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Stücken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Steckersetcker · sstecker · stceker · steccker · stecekr · steckerr · steckker · steckre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Stecker" for "Stücken" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɛkɐ] versus [ˈʃtʏkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Stecker" or "Stücken" show up more?
"Stücken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,289 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.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stecker" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stücken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,870,743 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stecker" and "Stücken" 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 #1,870,743 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