stechen

[ˈʃtɛçn̩]

/[ˈʃtɛçn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“stechen” has 11 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #9,986. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,986
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - einen spitzen Gegenstand wie eine Nadel in einen anderen Gegenstand treiben

Corpus desk

Index DE-stechen · stechen · German

stechen · rank #9,986 · 11 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,986
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Statue

Nearest frequency peer: Statue (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „stechen“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „stechen“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

stechen vs stehe
71% similar
stechen vs stehn
71% similar
stechen vs stehen
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for stechen
PropertyValue
Headwordstechen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈʃtɛçn̩]
Letters7
Frequency rank#9,986
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „stechen“

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).stechenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Statue“ (#9,985), „stellst“ (#9,987), „staatlicher“ (#9,984). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „stechen“ bei #9,986. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around stechen (IPA [ˈʃtɛçn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #9,986 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for stechen, with forms such as "setchen", "sstechen", and "stcehen". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "stehe", "stehn", "stehen", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is stechen, spelled S-T-E-C-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    einen spitzen Gegenstand wie eine Nadel in einen anderen Gegenstand treiben
  2. 2
    jemanden oder sich selbst durch einen Stich verletzen
  3. 3
    als Tier (Biene) oder auch Pflanze (Dornen, Nadeln) Personen mit stechenden Werkzeugen verletzen
  4. 4
    Schmerzen oder Ähnliches, die sich wie ein Stich anfühlen, bereiten
  5. 5
    als brennende Sonne unangenehm für die Haut und das Wohlbefinden sein
  6. 6
    eine höherwertige Karte auf den Tisch legen
  7. 7
    Bilder in Kupfer oder Stahl einritzen
  8. 8
    unentschiedenen Wettkampf durch Wiederholung entscheiden
  9. 9
    den Geschlechtsakt ausüben

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how stechen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Zur sicheren Aufbewahrung sticht man Nadeln am besten in ein Nadelkissen.
  2. Gestern habe ich mich beim Nähen viermal gestochen.

Synonyms

pikenpiksen

This word in other languages

sting(English)pinchar(Español)piquer(Français)furar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • setchen
  • sstechen
  • stcehen
  • stecchen
  • stecehn
  • stechenn
  • stechhen
  • stechne
  • stehcen
  • sttechen
  • tsechen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stechen - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

setchen2sstechen1stcehen2stecchen1stecehn2stechenn1stechhen1stechne2
Edit distance from "stechen"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stechen"?
"stechen" is spelled S-T-E-C-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃtɛçn̩].
What does "stechen" mean?
As a verb, "stechen" means: einen spitzen Gegenstand wie eine Nadel in einen anderen Gegenstand treiben
What words are commonly confused with "stechen"?
"stechen" is commonly confused with "stehe", "stehn", "stehen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stechen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stechen" is [ˈʃtɛçn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "stechen" come from?
"stechen" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "stechen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stellst#9,987spielst#9,981Unruhen#9,997Vorhang#10,009

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Merkmal11 variantsAbgrund11 variantsanfassen11 variantsAnthony11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list