Which to use
“stumme” and “stumpf” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,310
- “stumme” frequency rank
- #11,537
- “stumpf” frequency rank
- 41847
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stumme | stumpf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs stumm | nicht scharf (bei Schneidegeräten), sodass es nicht mehr möglich ist zu schneiden |
Where the eye mixes stumme and stumpf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. stumme (CCVCCV) and stumpf (CCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: stumme vs stumpf
A purely visual mix-up. stumme ([ˈʃtʊmə]) and stumpf ([ʃtʊmp͡f]) 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 41847, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stumme is recorded at frequency rank #30,310, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtʊmə]. stumpf is at rank #11,537, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃtʊmp͡f].
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 41847, this pair ranks #1,467,273 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stumme vs stumpf
Shared letters: mstu. Private to "stumme": e. Private to "stumpf": fp.
"stumme" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "stumpf" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "stumme" and "stumpf" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "stumme" or "stumpf"?
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 "stumme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stumpf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,467,273 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stumme" and "stumpf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stemmt vs stumme". 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 #1,467,273 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.