Which to use
“stick” and “stieg” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,572
- “stick” frequency rank
- #2,920
- “stieg” frequency rank
- 13492
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stick | stieg |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Präsens Imperativ Aktiv des Verbs sticken | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs steigen |
Where the eye mixes stick and stieg
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses stick with stieg
A purely visual mix-up. stick ([ʃtɪk]) and stieg ([ʃtiːk]) 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 13492, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stick is recorded at frequency rank #10,572, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃtɪk]. stieg is at rank #2,920, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtiːk].
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 13492, this pair ranks #1,957,638 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stick vs stieg
Shared letters: ist. Private to "stick": ck. Private to "stieg": eg.
"stick" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "stieg" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stick" for "stieg" ever safe?
Frequency check: "stick" vs "stieg" - which ranks higher?
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 "stick" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stieg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,957,638 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stick" and "stieg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stick 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 #1,957,638 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.