StichvsStreichWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,726
“Stich” frequency rank
#10,371
“Streich” frequency rank
17097
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stich Streich
Definition das Eindringen eines spitzen Gegenstandes in einen Körper das Hereinlegen einer Person zum Zwecke der Belustigung

Where the eye mixes Stich and Streich

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

5 ch
Stich
7 ch
Streich

Visual trap between Stich and Streich

A purely visual mix-up. Stich ([ʃtɪç]) and Streich ([ʃtʁaɪ̯ç]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17097, 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]. Streich is at rank #10,371, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtʁaɪ̯ç].

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 17097, this pair ranks #1,930,383 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stich vs Streich

Shared letters: chist. Private to "Stich": -. Private to "Streich": er.

"Stich" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Streich" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stichsitch · sstich · stcih · sticch · stichh · stihc · sttich
  • Streichsrteich · sstreich · sterich · strecih · streicch · streichh · streihc · striech

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stich" and "Streich" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtɪç] versus [ʃtʁaɪ̯ç]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Stich" or "Streich"?
"Stich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,726 in our German list, against #10,371 for "Streich". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "Streich" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,930,383 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stich" and "Streich" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Streich vs streikt". 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 #1,930,383 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