StiftvsStilsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,108
“Stift” frequency rank
#26,184
“Stils” frequency rank
32292
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stift Stils
Definition künstlich hergestellter länglicher, meist zylindrischer Körper aus Metall oder Holz, oft mit einer Spitze, der vielfachen Verwendungsmöglichkeiten dient Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Stil

Where the eye mixes Stift and Stils

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

5 ch
Stift
5 ch
Stils

Visual trap between Stift and Stils

A purely visual mix-up. Stift ([ʃtɪft]) and Stils ([ʃtiːls]) 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 32292, 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]. Stils is at rank #26,184, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtiːls].

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 32292, this pair ranks #1,710,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stift vs Stils

Shared letters: ist. Private to "Stift": f. Private to "Stils": l.

"Stift" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Stils" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stiftsitft · sstift · stfit · stifft · stiftt · stitf · sttift · tsift
  • Stilssitls · sstils · stills · stilss · stisl · stlis · sttils · tsils

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Stift" and "Stils" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtɪft] versus [ʃtiːls]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Stift" or "Stils"?
"Stift" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,108 in our German list, against #26,184 for "Stils". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stift" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stils" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,710,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stift" and "Stils" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stilen vs Stils". 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 #1,710,747 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