Which to use
“stumme” is an adjective and “summen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,310
- “stumme” frequency rank
- #8,791
- “summen” frequency rank
- 39101
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stumme | summen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs stumm | ohne Text, meist mit geschlossenen Lippen, die Melodie zu einem Lied von sich geben |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set stumme and summen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stumme is [ˈʃtʊmə] while summen is [ˈzʊmən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39101, 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]. summen is at rank #8,791, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzʊmən].
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 39101, this pair ranks #1,546,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stumme vs summen
Shared letters: emsu. Private to "stumme": t. Private to "summen": n.
"stumme" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "summen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "stumme" and "summen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "stumme" or "summen"?
Remembering stumme vs summen
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “stumme”; for a verb, it's “summen”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “stumme” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable