Which to use
“stiften” is a verb and “Stiftung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,069
- “stiften” frequency rank
- #1,828
- “Stiftung” frequency rank
- 21897
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stiften | Stiftung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Stiftung gründen und mit Geld oder anderen Werten ausstatten | Bereitstellung von Geld oder Sachmitteln für einen erwünschten Zweck |
Where the eye mixes stiften and Stiftung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. stiften runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against Stiftung's 8 (CCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses stiften with Stiftung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stiften is [ˈʃtɪftn̩] while Stiftung is [ˈʃtɪftʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21897, 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]. Stiftung is at rank #1,828, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɪftʊŋ].
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 21897, this pair ranks #1,880,831 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stiften vs Stiftung
Shared letters: finst. Private to "stiften": e. Private to "Stiftung": gu.
"stiften" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "Stiftung" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "stiften" and "Stiftung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "stiften" or "Stiftung"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "stiften" and "Stiftung" 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 "Stiftung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,880,831 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stiften" and "Stiftung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stiften vs Stilen". 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 #1,880,831 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.