Which to use
“streichen” is a verb and “Streifen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,430
- “streichen” frequency rank
- #4,161
- “Streifen” frequency rank
- 9591
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | streichen | Streifen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Farbe mit einem Pinsel auf einen Untergrund auftragen | ein langer, schmaler, farblich abgehobener Abschnitt von einer Fläche |
Where the eye mixes streichen and Streifen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: streichen vs Streifen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: streichen is [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çn̩] while Streifen is [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯fn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 9591, 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]. Streifen is at rank #4,161, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯fn̩].
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 9591, this pair ranks #1,979,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of streichen vs Streifen
Shared letters: einrst. Private to "streichen": ch. Private to "Streifen": f.
"streichen" · 9 letters · shape CCCVVCCVC · "Streifen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "streichen" and "Streifen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "streichen" or "Streifen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "streichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Streifen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,979,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "streichen" and "Streifen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Speichen vs streichen". 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 #1,979,240 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.