StockvsStoffConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,686
“Stock” frequency rank
#2,921
“Stoff” frequency rank
6607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stock Stoff
Definition länglicher zylindrischer Gegenstand, meist aus Holz das Material, die Materie

Where the eye mixes Stock and Stoff

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

5 ch
Stock
5 ch
Stoff

Visual trap between Stock and Stoff

A purely visual mix-up. Stock ([ʃtɔk]) and Stoff ([ʃtɔf]) 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 6607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stock is recorded at frequency rank #3,686, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtɔk]. Stoff is at rank #2,921, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtɔf].

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 6607, this pair ranks #1,991,063 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stock vs Stoff

Shared letters: ost. Private to "Stock": ck. Private to "Stoff": f.

"Stock" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Stoff" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stocksotck · sstock · stcok · stocck · stockk · stokc · sttock · tsock
  • Stoffsotff · sstoff · stfof · stof · sttoff · tsoff

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Stock" and "Stoff" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtɔk] versus [ʃtɔf]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Stock" or "Stoff"?
"Stoff" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,921 in our German list, against #3,686 for "Stock". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stock" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stoff" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,991,063 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stock" and "Stoff" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stock vs struck". 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 #1,991,063 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