StichvssticksWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,726
“Stich” frequency rank
#28,402
“sticks” frequency rank
35128
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stich sticks
Definition das Eindringen eines spitzen Gegenstandes in einen Körper Plural des Substantivs stick

Where the eye mixes Stich and sticks

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Stich
6 ch
sticks

Why the eye confuses Stich with sticks

A purely visual mix-up. Stich ([ʃtɪç]) and sticks ([stɪks]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35128, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stich is recorded at frequency rank #6,726, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtɪç]. sticks is at rank #28,402, tagged as anoun, pronounced [stɪks].

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 35128, this pair ranks #1,647,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stich vs sticks

Shared letters: cist. Private to "Stich": h. Private to "sticks": k.

"Stich" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "sticks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stichsitch · sstich · stcih · sticch · stichh · stihc · sttich
  • stickssitcks · ssticks · stciks · sticcks · stickks · stickss · sticsk · stikcs

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stich" and "sticks" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtɪç] versus [stɪks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Stich" vs "sticks" - which ranks higher?
"Stich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,726 in our German list, against #28,402 for "sticks". 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 "Stich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sticks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,647,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stich" and "sticks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sticks vs Stiles". 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 #1,647,403 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