Which to use
“stiften” and “stiftete” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,069
- “stiften” frequency rank
- #42,847
- “stiftete” frequency rank
- 62916
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stiften | stiftete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Stiftung gründen und mit Geld oder anderen Werten ausstatten | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stiften |
Where the eye mixes stiften and stiftete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. stiften runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against stiftete's 8 (CCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: stiften vs stiftete
A purely visual mix-up. stiften ([ˈʃtɪftn̩]) and stiftete ([ˈʃtɪftətə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62916, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stiften is recorded at frequency rank #20,069, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɪftn̩]. stiftete is at rank #42,847, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɪftətə].
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 62916, this pair ranks #695,487 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stiften vs stiftete
Shared letters: efist. Private to "stiften": n. Private to "stiftete": -.
"stiften" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "stiftete" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stiften" for "stiftete" ever safe?
Which is more common, "stiften" or "stiftete"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "stiften" and "stiftete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "stiften" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stiftete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #695,487 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stiften" and "stiftete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stattete vs stiftete". 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 #695,487 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.