streichenvsStreicherTell them apart

Quick tell: streichen is a verb, Streicher is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“streichen” is a verb and “Streicher” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,430
“streichen” frequency rank
#22,910
“Streicher” frequency rank
28340
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature streichen Streicher
Definition Farbe mit einem Pinsel auf einen Untergrund auftragen jemand, der ein Streichinstrument spielt

Where the eye mixes streichen and Streicher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. streichen and Streicher follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCCVVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
streichen
9 ch
Streicher

Look-alike desk: streichen vs Streicher

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: streichen is [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çn̩] while Streicher is [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “streichen” becomes r in “Streicher”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

streichen is recorded at frequency rank #5,430, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çn̩]. Streicher is at rank #22,910, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çɐ].

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 28340, this pair ranks #1,786,529 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of streichen vs Streicher

Shared letters: cehirst. Private to "streichen": n. Private to "Streicher": -.

"streichen" · 9 letters · shape CCCVVCCVC  ·  "Streicher" · 9 letters · shape CCCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • streichen ← srteichen · sstreichen · sterichen · strecihen · streicchen · streicehn · streichenn · streichhen
  • Streicher ← srteicher · sstreicher · stericher · streciher · streiccher · streicehr · streicherr · streichher

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "streichen" and "Streicher" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "streichen" is a verb and "Streicher" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "streichen" or "Streicher" show up more?
"streichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,430 in our German list, against #22,910 for "Streicher". 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 "streichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Streicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,786,529 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "streichen" and "Streicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Streicher vs Streiter". 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 #1,786,529 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