Which to use
“Strafe” and “Streife” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,557
- “Strafe” frequency rank
- #19,722
- “Streife” frequency rank
- 22279
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Strafe | Streife |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sanktion, wegen Fehlverhalten erhaltene Reaktion | Personengruppe (von Militär, Polizei, Sicherheitsdienst), die Fahrten oder Gänge zwecks Kontrolle eines Bereichs durchführt |
Where the eye mixes Strafe and Streife
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Strafe and Streife
A purely visual mix-up. Strafe ([ˈʃtʁaːfə]) and Streife ([ˈʃtʁaɪ̯fə]) 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 22279, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Strafe is recorded at frequency rank #2,557, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaːfə]. Streife is at rank #19,722, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯fə].
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 22279, this pair ranks #1,876,130 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Strafe vs Streife
Shared letters: efrst. Private to "Strafe": a. Private to "Streife": i.
"Strafe" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV · "Streife" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Strafe" and "Streife" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Strafe" vs "Streife" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Strafe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Streife" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,876,130 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Strafe" and "Streife" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Streife vs Streiter". 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 #1,876,130 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.