stopfenvsStufenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#16,840
“stopfen” frequency rank
#6,008
“Stufen” frequency rank
22848
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stopfen Stufen
Definition etwas Verformbares irgendwo hineindrücken Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Stufe

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set stopfen and Stufen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
stopfen
6 ch
Stufen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stopfen is [ˈʃtɔp͡fn̩] while Stufen is [ˈʃtuːfn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22848, 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]. Stufen is at rank #6,008, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtuːfn̩].

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 22848, this pair ranks #1,868,967 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of stopfen vs Stufen

Shared letters: efnst. Private to "stopfen": op. Private to "Stufen": u.

"stopfen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Stufen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stopfensotpfen · sstopfen · stofpen · stopefn · stopfenn · stopffen · stopfne · stoppfen
  • Stufensstufen · stfuen · sttufen · stuefn · stufenn · stuffen · stufne · sutfen

Frequency comparison

stopfen#16,840
Stufen#6,008

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "stopfen" and "Stufen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "stopfen" is a verb and "Stufen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "stopfen" or "Stufen"?
"Stufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,008 in our German list, against #16,840 for "stopfen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering stopfen vs Stufen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “stopfen”; for a noun, it's “Stufen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “stopfen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list