StückevsStufeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,079
“Stücke” frequency rank
#2,997
“Stufe” frequency rank
6076
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stücke Stufe
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Stück meist einzelner Teil einer Treppe, der zum Höher- oder Tiefersteigen dient, Trittfläche

Where the eye mixes Stücke and Stufe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Stücke runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against Stufe's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Stücke
5 ch
Stufe

Why the eye confuses Stücke with Stufe

A purely visual mix-up. Stücke ([ˈʃtʏkə]) and Stufe ([ˈʃtuːfə]) 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 6076, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stücke is recorded at frequency rank #3,079, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtʏkə]. Stufe is at rank #2,997, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtuːfə].

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 6076, this pair ranks #1,992,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stücke vs Stufe

Shared letters: est. Private to "Stücke": ckü. Private to "Stufe": fu.

"Stücke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Stufe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stufe ← sstufe · stfue · sttufe · stuef · stuffe · sutfe · tsufe

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stücke" and "Stufe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtʏkə] versus [ˈʃtuːfə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Stücke" vs "Stufe" - which ranks higher?
"Stufe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,997 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.

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 "Stücke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stufe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,992,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stücke" and "Stufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stufe vs Stuten". 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 #1,992,804 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