Which to use
“stumm” is an adjective and “sum” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,598
- “stumm” frequency rank
- #31,289
- “sum” frequency rank
- 43887
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stumm | sum |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | keine Laute von sich geben könnend | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs esse |
Letter map: stumm vs sum
Shared letters muted; letters that set stumm and sum apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Grammar separator: stumm vs sum
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: stumm is anadjective and sumaverb. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43887, 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]. sum is at rank #31,289, tagged as averb, pronounced […].
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 43887, this pair ranks #1,403,796 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stumm vs sum
Shared letters: msu. Private to "stumm": t. Private to "sum": -.
"stumm" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "sum" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- stumm ← sstumm · stmum · sttumm · stum · sutmm · tsumm
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "stumm" and "sum" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "stumm" or "sum" show up more?
What to do next
Pair "stumm" vs "sum" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "stumm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,403,796 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stumm" and "sum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "puzzles vs sum". 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 #1,403,796 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.