StrebevsstrikeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#37,230
“Strebe” frequency rank
#16,295
“strike” frequency rank
53525
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Strebe strike
Definition kleine, hilfreich nach Oben geneigte Stütze, die etwas Größeres stabilisiert und Querkräfte aufhebt/aufnimmt Schlag, Angriff

Where the eye mixes Strebe and strike

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Strebe
6 ch
strike

Look-alike desk: Strebe vs strike

A purely visual mix-up. Strebe ([ˈʃtʁeːbə]) and strike ([stɹaɪk]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53525, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Strebe is recorded at frequency rank #37,230, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁeːbə]. strike is at rank #16,295, tagged as anoun, pronounced [stɹaɪk].

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 53525, this pair ranks #1,054,573 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Strebe vs strike

Shared letters: erst. Private to "Strebe": b. Private to "strike": ik.

"Strebe" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV  ·  "strike" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Strebesrtebe · sstrebe · strbee · strebbe · streeb · strrebe · sttrebe · tsrebe
  • strikesrtike · sstrike · stirke · strikke · strkie · strrike · sttrike · tsrike

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Strebe" and "strike" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtʁeːbə] versus [stɹaɪk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Strebe" or "strike" show up more?
"strike" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,295 in our German list, against #37,230 for "Strebe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Strebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "strike" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,054,573 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Strebe" and "strike" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stiege vs Strebe". 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 #1,054,573 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