StichwortvsStichworteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,398
“Stichwort” frequency rank
#24,138
“Stichworte” frequency rank
31536
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stichwort Stichworte
Definition Wort, das man in einem Wörterbuch alphabetisch oder nach anderen Kriterien geordnet auffinden kann und erläutert ist oder einen Textverweis enthält Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Stichwort

Where the eye mixes Stichwort and Stichworte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
Stichwort
10 ch
Stichworte

Why the eye confuses Stichwort with Stichworte

A purely visual mix-up. Stichwort ([ˈʃtɪçˌvɔʁt]) and Stichworte ([ˈʃtɪçˌvɔʁtə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Stichwort” sits inside “Stichworte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31536, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stichwort is recorded at frequency rank #7,398, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɪçˌvɔʁt]. Stichworte is at rank #24,138, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɪçˌvɔʁtə].

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 31536, this pair ranks #1,726,112 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stichwort vs Stichworte

Shared letters: chiorstw. Private to "Stichwort": -. Private to "Stichworte": e.

"Stichwort" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCVCC  ·  "Stichworte" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stichwortsitchwort · sstichwort · stcihwort · sticchwort · stichhwort · stichowrt · stichworrt · stichwortt
  • Stichwortesitchworte · sstichworte · stcihworte · sticchworte · stichhworte · stichowrte · stichworet · stichworrte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stichwort" and "Stichworte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɪçˌvɔʁt] versus [ˈʃtɪçˌvɔʁtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Stichwort" or "Stichworte" show up more?
"Stichwort" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,398 in our German list, against #24,138 for "Stichworte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stichwort" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stichworte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,726,112 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stichwort" and "Stichworte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sprichwort vs Stichwort". 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 #1,726,112 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