StreichvsStricheConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,371
“Streich” frequency rank
#33,319
“Striche” frequency rank
43690
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Streich Striche
Definition das Hereinlegen einer Person zum Zwecke der Belustigung Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Strich

Where the eye mixes Streich and Striche

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Streich (CCCVVCC) and Striche (CCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
Streich
7 ch
Striche

Visual trap between Streich and Striche

A purely visual mix-up. Streich ([ʃtʁaɪ̯ç]) and Striche ([ˈʃtʁɪçə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43690, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Streich is recorded at frequency rank #10,371, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtʁaɪ̯ç]. Striche is at rank #33,319, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁɪçə].

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 43690, this pair ranks #1,410,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Streich vs Striche

Shared letters: cehirst. Private to "Streich": -. Private to "Striche": -.

"Streich" · 7 letters · shape CCCVVCC  ·  "Striche" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Streich ← srteich · sstreich · sterich · strecih · streicch · streichh · streihc · striech
  • Striche ← srtiche · sstriche · stirche · strcihe · stricche · striceh · strichhe · strihce

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Streich" and "Striche" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtʁaɪ̯ç] versus [ˈʃtʁɪçə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Streich" or "Striche" show up more?
"Streich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,371 in our German list, against #33,319 for "Striche". 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 "Streich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Striche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,410,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Streich" and "Striche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stichen vs Striche". 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 #1,410,029 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