StrahlenvsStühlenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,632
“Strahlen” frequency rank
#19,050
“Stühlen” frequency rank
27682
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Strahlen Stühlen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Strahl Dativ Plural des Substantivs Stuhl

Where the eye mixes Strahlen and Stühlen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Strahlen runs 8 letters (CCCVCCVC) against Stühlen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Strahlen
7 ch
Stühlen

Visual trap between Strahlen and Stühlen

A purely visual mix-up. Strahlen ([ˈʃtʁaːlən]) and Stühlen ([ˈʃtyːlən]) 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 27682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Strahlen is recorded at frequency rank #8,632, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaːlən]. Stühlen is at rank #19,050, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtyːlən].

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 27682, this pair ranks #1,797,681 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Strahlen vs Stühlen

Shared letters: ehlnst. Private to "Strahlen": ar. Private to "Stühlen": ü.

"Strahlen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Stühlen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Strahlen ← srtahlen · sstrahlen · starhlen · straheln · strahhlen · strahlenn · strahllen · strahlne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Strahlen" for "Stühlen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtʁaːlən] versus [ˈʃtyːlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Strahlen" vs "Stühlen" - which ranks higher?
"Strahlen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,632 in our German list, against #19,050 for "Stühlen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Strahlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stühlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,797,681 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Strahlen" and "Stühlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stilen vs Stühlen". 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 #1,797,681 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