stöhnenvsstopfenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#20,423
“stöhnen” frequency rank
#16,840
“stopfen” frequency rank
37263
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stöhnen stopfen
Definition aufgrund von Anstrengung, Erregung oder Schmerz unartikulierte Laute hervorstoßen etwas Verformbares irgendwo hineindrücken

Where the eye mixes stöhnen and stopfen

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

7 ch
stöhnen
7 ch
stopfen

Visual trap between stöhnen and stopfen

A purely visual mix-up. stöhnen ([ˈʃtøːnən]) and stopfen ([ˈʃtɔp͡fn̩]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stöhnen is recorded at frequency rank #20,423, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtøːnən]. stopfen is at rank #16,840, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɔp͡fn̩].

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 37263, this pair ranks #1,594,666 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of stöhnen vs stopfen

Shared letters: enst. Private to "stöhnen": . Private to "stopfen": fop.

"stöhnen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "stopfen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stopfensotpfen · sstopfen · stofpen · stopefn · stopfenn · stopffen · stopfne · stoppfen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "stöhnen" and "stopfen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtøːnən] versus [ˈʃtɔp͡fn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "stöhnen" or "stopfen"?
"stopfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,840 in our German list, against #20,423 for "stöhnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "stöhnen" and "stopfen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "stöhnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stopfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,594,666 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stöhnen" and "stopfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stöhnen vs Strähnen". 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 #1,594,666 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