stolzenvsstopfenConfusable pair

Quick tell: stolzen is a adjective, stopfen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“stolzen” is an adjective and “stopfen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,070
“stolzen” frequency rank
#16,840
“stopfen” frequency rank
36910
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stolzen stopfen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs stolz etwas Verformbares irgendwo hineindrücken

Where the eye mixes stolzen and stopfen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. stolzen and stopfen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
stolzen
7 ch
stopfen

Why the eye confuses stolzen with stopfen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stolzen is [ˈʃtɔlt͡sn̩] while stopfen is [ˈʃtɔp͡fn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36910, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stolzen is recorded at frequency rank #20,070, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtɔlt͡sn̩]. 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 36910, this pair ranks #1,603,567 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of stolzen vs stopfen

Shared letters: enost. Private to "stolzen": lz. Private to "stopfen": fp.

"stolzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "stopfen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stolzen ← sotlzen · sstolzen · stlozen · stolezn · stollzen · stolzenn · stolzne · stolzzen
  • stopfen ← sotpfen · sstopfen · stofpen · stopefn · stopfenn · stopffen · stopfne · stoppfen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "stolzen" for "stopfen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "stolzen" is an adjective and "stopfen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "stolzen" vs "stopfen" - which ranks higher?
"stopfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,840 in our German list, against #20,070 for "stolzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "stolzen" 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 #1,603,567 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stolzen" and "stopfen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stilen vs stolzen". 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 #1,603,567 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