Which to use
“Stift” is a noun and “stifte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,108
- “Stift” frequency rank
- #17,143
- “stifte” frequency rank
- 23251
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Stift | stifte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | künstlich hergestellter länglicher, meist zylindrischer Körper aus Metall oder Holz, oft mit einer Spitze, der vielfachen Verwendungsmöglichkeiten dient | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stiften |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Stift and stifte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Stift and stifte form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Stift” sits inside “stifte” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23251, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Stift is recorded at frequency rank #6,108, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtɪft]. stifte is at rank #17,143, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɪftə].
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 23251, this pair ranks #1,863,738 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Stift" and "stifte" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Stift vs stifte
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Stift”; for a verb, it's “stifte”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Stift” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable