Which to use
“stöbern” and “stören” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,327
- “stöbern” frequency rank
- #4,390
- “stören” frequency rank
- 27717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stöbern | stören |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas ausdauernd durchsuchen, in etwas herumwühlen und dabei eine Unordnung machen | jemanden bei etwas belästigen, von etwas ablenken, einen Vorgang hemmen, ein Vorhaben hemmen, ärgerlicherweise aufhalten |
Where the eye mixes stöbern and stören
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. stöbern runs 7 letters (CCVCVCC) against stören's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses stöbern with stören
A purely visual mix-up. stöbern ([ˈʃtøːbɐn]) and stören ([ˈʃtøːʁən]) 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 27717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stöbern is recorded at frequency rank #23,327, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtøːbɐn]. stören is at rank #4,390, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtøːʁən].
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 27717, this pair ranks #1,797,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stöbern vs stören
Shared letters: enrstö. Private to "stöbern": b. Private to "stören": -.
"stöbern" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC · "stören" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stöbern" for "stören" ever safe?
Which is more common, "stöbern" or "stören"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "stöbern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stören" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,797,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stöbern" and "stören" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stöbern vs Stuben". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,797,053 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.