Which to use
“stopfen” is a verb and “Stöpsel” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,840
- “stopfen” frequency rank
- #44,953
- “Stöpsel” frequency rank
- 61793
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stopfen | Stöpsel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas Verformbares irgendwo hineindrücken | ein Verschluss für kleinere Öffnungen in Rohren, Flaschenhälsen |
Where the eye mixes stopfen and Stöpsel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stopfen vs Stöpsel
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stopfen is [ˈʃtɔp͡fn̩] while Stöpsel is [ˈʃtœpsl̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stopfen is recorded at frequency rank #16,840, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɔp͡fn̩]. Stöpsel is at rank #44,953, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtœpsl̩].
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 61793, this pair ranks #736,477 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stopfen vs Stöpsel
Shared letters: epst. Private to "stopfen": fno. Private to "Stöpsel": lö.
"stopfen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "Stöpsel" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- stopfen ← sotpfen · sstopfen · stofpen · stopefn · stopfenn · stopffen · stopfne · stoppfen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stopfen" for "Stöpsel" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "stopfen" or "Stöpsel" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "stopfen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stöpsel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #736,477 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stopfen" and "Stöpsel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stopfen vs stopft". 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 #736,477 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.