strecktevsstrickeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,838
“streckte” frequency rank
#40,867
“stricke” frequency rank
74705
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature streckte stricke
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs strecken 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stricken

Where the eye mixes streckte and stricke

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

8 ch
streckte
7 ch
stricke

Why the eye confuses streckte with stricke

A purely visual mix-up. streckte ([ˈʃtʁɛktə]) and stricke ([ˈʃtʁɪkə]) 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 74705, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

streckte is recorded at frequency rank #33,838, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʁɛktə]. stricke is at rank #40,867, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʁɪkə].

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 74705, this pair ranks #326,486 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of streckte vs stricke

Shared letters: cekrst. Private to "streckte": -. Private to "stricke": i.

"streckte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV  ·  "stricke" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • streckte ← srteckte · sstreckte · sterckte · strcekte · strecckte · strecket · streckkte · strecktte
  • stricke ← srticke · sstricke · stircke · strcike · striccke · stricek · strickke · strikce

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "streckte" and "stricke" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtʁɛktə] versus [ˈʃtʁɪkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "streckte" vs "stricke" - which ranks higher?
"streckte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,838 in our German list, against #40,867 for "stricke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "streckte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stricke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #326,486 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "streckte" and "stricke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stricke vs struck". 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 #326,486 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