Which to use
“Stoff” and “Stoffe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,921
- “Stoff” frequency rank
- #5,886
- “Stoffe” frequency rank
- 8807
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Stoff | Stoffe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das Material, die Materie | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Stoff |
Where the eye mixes Stoff and Stoffe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Stoff and Stoffe
A purely visual mix-up. Stoff ([ʃtɔf]) and Stoffe ([ˈʃtɔfə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Stoff” sits inside “Stoffe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8807, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Stoff is recorded at frequency rank #2,921, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtɔf]. Stoffe is at rank #5,886, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɔfə].
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 8807, this pair ranks #1,982,738 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Stoff vs Stoffe
Shared letters: fost. Private to "Stoff": -. Private to "Stoffe": e.
"Stoff" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "Stoffe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Stoff" and "Stoffe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Stoff" vs "Stoffe" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Stoff" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stoffe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,982,738 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Stoff" and "Stoffe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steife vs Stoffe". 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 #1,982,738 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.