Which to use
“streicheln” is a verb and “Strichen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,755
- “streicheln” frequency rank
- #40,866
- “Strichen” frequency rank
- 56621
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | streicheln | Strichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas/jemanden streicheln; (meist mit der flachen Hand bzw. mit den Fingern) sanft über das Äußere eines Tieres, Menschen oder selten auch Gegenstandes fahren | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Strich |
Where the eye mixes streicheln and Strichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: streicheln vs Strichen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: streicheln is [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çl̩n] while Strichen is [ˈʃtʁɪçn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
streicheln is recorded at frequency rank #15,755, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çl̩n]. Strichen is at rank #40,866, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁɪçn̩].
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 56621, this pair ranks #933,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of streicheln vs Strichen
Shared letters: cehinrst. Private to "streicheln": l. Private to "Strichen": -.
"streicheln" · 10 letters · shape CCCVVCCVCC · "Strichen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- streicheln ← srteicheln · sstreicheln · stericheln · streciheln · streiccheln · streicehln · streichelln · streichelnn
- Strichen ← srtichen · sstrichen · stirchen · strcihen · stricchen · stricehn · strichenn · strichhen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "streicheln" and "Strichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "streicheln" or "Strichen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "streicheln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Strichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #933,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "streicheln" and "Strichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Strichen vs strippen". 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 #933,243 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.