streichenvsstreitenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,430
“streichen” frequency rank
#4,563
“streiten” frequency rank
9993
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature streichen streiten
Definition Farbe mit einem Pinsel auf einen Untergrund auftragen wütend eine Auseinandersetzung haben

Where the eye mixes streichen and streiten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
streichen
8 ch
streiten

Look-alike desk: streichen vs streiten

A purely visual mix-up. streichen ([ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çn̩]) and streiten ([ˈʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩]) 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 9993, 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]. streiten is at rank #4,563, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩].

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 9993, this pair ranks #1,977,294 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of streichen vs streiten

Shared letters: einrst. Private to "streichen": ch. Private to "streiten": -.

"streichen" · 9 letters · shape CCCVVCCVC  ·  "streiten" · 8 letters · shape CCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • streichensrteichen · sstreichen · sterichen · strecihen · streicchen · streicehn · streichenn · streichhen
  • streitensrteiten · sstreiten · steriten · streietn · streitenn · streitne · streitten · stretien

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "streichen" and "streiten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çn̩] versus [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "streichen" vs "streiten" - which ranks higher?
"streiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,563 in our German list, against #5,430 for "streichen". 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 "streichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "streiten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,977,294 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "streichen" and "streiten" 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 #1,977,294 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