Which to use
“steife” is an adjective and “strike” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,248
- “steife” frequency rank
- #16,295
- “strike” frequency rank
- 60543
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steife | strike |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steif | Schlag, Angriff |
Where the eye mixes steife and strike
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between steife and strike
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steife is [ˈʃtaɪ̯fə] while strike is [stɹaɪk]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60543, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
steife is recorded at frequency rank #44,248, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯fə]. strike is at rank #16,295, tagged as anoun, pronounced [stɹaɪk].
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 60543, this pair ranks #783,069 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of steife vs strike
Shared letters: eist. Private to "steife": f. Private to "strike": kr.
"steife" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "strike" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "steife" for "strike" ever safe?
Which is more common, "steife" or "strike"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "steife" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "strike" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #783,069 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steife" and "strike" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steife vs Stele". 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 #783,069 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.