StückvsStückeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#711
“Stück” frequency rank
#3,079
“Stücke” frequency rank
3790
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stück Stücke
Definition Teil eines Ganzen Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Stück

Where the eye mixes Stück and Stücke

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Stück runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against Stücke's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Stück
6 ch
Stücke

Look-alike desk: Stück vs Stücke

A purely visual mix-up. Stück ([ʃtʏk]) and Stücke ([ˈʃtʏkə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Stück” sits inside “Stücke”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3790, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stück is recorded at frequency rank #711, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtʏk]. Stücke is at rank #3,079, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʏkə].

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 3790, this pair ranks #1,999,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stück vs Stücke

Shared letters: ckstü. Private to "Stück": -. Private to "Stücke": e.

"Stück" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Stücke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stück" and "Stücke" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtʏk] versus [ˈʃtʏkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Stück" or "Stücke" show up more?
"Stück" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #711 in our German list, against #3,079 for "Stücke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Stück" and "Stücke" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stück" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stücke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,999,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stück" and "Stücke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "struck vs Stücke". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,999,365 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