StufevsSuffConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,997
“Stufe” frequency rank
#42,164
“Suff” frequency rank
45161
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stufe Suff
Definition meist einzelner Teil einer Treppe, der zum Höher- oder Tiefersteigen dient, Trittfläche Trunk- oder Alkoholsucht

Where the eye mixes Stufe and Suff

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Stufe runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against Suff's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Stufe
4 ch
Suff

Visual trap between Stufe and Suff

A purely visual mix-up. Stufe ([ˈʃtuːfə]) and Suff ([zʊf]) 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 45161, 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]. Suff is at rank #42,164, tagged as anoun, pronounced [zʊf].

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 45161, this pair ranks #1,362,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Stufe vs Suff

Shared letters: fsu. Private to "Stufe": et. Private to "Suff": -.

"Stufe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Suff" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stufe ← sstufe · stfue · sttufe · stuef · stuffe · sutfe · tsufe
  • Suff ← sfuf · ssuff · suf · usff

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stufe" and "Suff" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtuːfə] versus [zʊf]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Stufe" or "Suff"?
"Stufe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,997 in our German list, against #42,164 for "Suff". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stufe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Suff" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,362,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stufe" and "Suff" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Suff vs surft". 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 #1,362,403 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