Which to use
“Stufe” and “Stuhl” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,997
- “Stufe” frequency rank
- #4,162
- “Stuhl” frequency rank
- 7159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Stufe | Stuhl |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | meist einzelner Teil einer Treppe, der zum Höher- oder Tiefersteigen dient, Trittfläche | (Sitz-)Möbel, meist mit vier hohen Beinen, Rückenlehne und eventuell Armlehnen |
Where the eye mixes Stufe and Stuhl
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Stufe (CCVCV) and Stuhl (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Stufe and Stuhl
A purely visual mix-up. Stufe ([ˈʃtuːfə]) and Stuhl ([ʃtuːl]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Stufe is recorded at frequency rank #2,997, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtuːfə]. Stuhl is at rank #4,162, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtuːl].
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 7159, this pair ranks #1,989,183 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Stufe vs Stuhl
Shared letters: stu. Private to "Stufe": ef. Private to "Stuhl": hl.
"Stufe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "Stuhl" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Stufe" for "Stuhl" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Stufe" vs "Stuhl" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Stufe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stuhl" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,989,183 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Stufe" and "Stuhl" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "skull vs Stuhl". 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 #1,989,183 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.