StichvsStockWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,726
“Stich” frequency rank
#3,686
“Stock” frequency rank
10412
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stich Stock
Definition das Eindringen eines spitzen Gegenstandes in einen Körper länglicher zylindrischer Gegenstand, meist aus Holz

Where the eye mixes Stich and Stock

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Stich
5 ch
Stock

Look-alike desk: Stich vs Stock

A purely visual mix-up. Stich ([ʃtɪç]) and Stock ([ʃtɔk]) 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 10412, 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]. Stock is at rank #3,686, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtɔk].

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 10412, this pair ranks #1,975,277 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stich vs Stock

Shared letters: cst. Private to "Stich": hi. Private to "Stock": ko.

"Stich" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Stock" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stichsitch · sstich · stcih · sticch · stichh · stihc · sttich
  • Stocksotck · sstock · stcok · stocck · stockk · stokc · sttock · tsock

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Stich" for "Stock" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtɪç] versus [ʃtɔk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Stich" or "Stock"?
"Stock" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,686 in our German list, against #6,726 for "Stich". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stock" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,975,277 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stich" and "Stock" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stock vs struck". 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 #1,975,277 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