stummvsstummenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,598
“stumm” frequency rank
#44,951
“stummen” frequency rank
57549
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stumm stummen
Definition keine Laute von sich geben könnend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs stumm

Where the eye mixes stumm and stummen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. stumm runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against stummen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
stumm
7 ch
stummen

Look-alike desk: stumm vs stummen

A purely visual mix-up. stumm ([ʃtʊm]) and stummen ([ˈʃtʊmən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “stumm” sits inside “stummen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57549, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stumm is recorded at frequency rank #12,598, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃtʊm]. stummen is at rank #44,951, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtʊmən].

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 57549, this pair ranks #897,161 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of stumm vs stummen

Shared letters: mstu. Private to "stumm": -. Private to "stummen": en.

"stumm" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "stummen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stumm ← sstumm · stmum · sttumm · stum · sutmm · tsumm
  • stummen ← sstummen · stmumen · sttummen · stumemn · stumen · stummenn · stummne · sutmmen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "stumm" for "stummen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtʊm] versus [ˈʃtʊmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "stumm" or "stummen" show up more?
"stumm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,598 in our German list, against #44,951 for "stummen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "stumm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stummen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #897,161 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stumm" and "stummen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stummen 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 #897,161 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