StoffevsstoneWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,886
“Stoffe” frequency rank
#9,099
“stone” frequency rank
14985
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stoffe stone
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Stoff Stein

Where the eye mixes Stoffe and stone

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Stoffe
5 ch
stone

Visual trap between Stoffe and stone

A purely visual mix-up. Stoffe ([ˈʃtɔfə]) and stone ([stəʊn]) 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 14985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stoffe is recorded at frequency rank #5,886, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɔfə]. stone is at rank #9,099, tagged as anoun, pronounced [stəʊn].

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 14985, this pair ranks #1,947,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stoffe vs stone

Shared letters: eost. Private to "Stoffe": f. Private to "stone": n.

"Stoffe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "stone" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stoffesotffe · sstoffe · stfofe · stofe · stofef · sttoffe · tsoffe
  • stonesotne · sstone · stnoe · stoen · stonne · sttone · tsone

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stoffe" and "stone" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɔfə] versus [stəʊn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Stoffe" or "stone" show up more?
"Stoffe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,886 in our German list, against #9,099 for "stone". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stoffe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stone" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,947,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stoffe" and "stone" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stone vs stoned". 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 #1,947,287 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