stummenvsstumpfenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,951
“stummen” frequency rank
#31,286
“stumpfen” frequency rank
76237
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stummen stumpfen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs stumm Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs stumpf

Where the eye mixes stummen and stumpfen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. stummen runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against stumpfen's 8 (CCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
stummen
8 ch
stumpfen

Why the eye confuses stummen with stumpfen

A purely visual mix-up. stummen ([ˈʃtʊmən]) and stumpfen ([ˈʃtʊmp͡fn̩]) 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 76237, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stummen is recorded at frequency rank #44,951, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtʊmən]. stumpfen is at rank #31,286, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtʊmp͡fn̩].

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 76237, this pair ranks #288,651 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of stummen vs stumpfen

Shared letters: emnstu. Private to "stummen": -. Private to "stumpfen": fp.

"stummen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "stumpfen" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stummen ← sstummen · stmumen · sttummen · stumemn · stumen · stummenn · stummne · sutmmen
  • stumpfen ← sstumpfen · stmupfen · sttumpfen · stumfpen · stummpfen · stumpefn · stumpfenn · stumpffen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "stummen" and "stumpfen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtʊmən] versus [ˈʃtʊmp͡fn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "stummen" vs "stumpfen" - which ranks higher?
"stumpfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,286 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

Eye-level mix-up between "stummen" and "stumpfen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "stummen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stumpfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #288,651 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stummen" and "stumpfen" 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 #288,651 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