streicheln
[ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çl̩n]
The verdict
“streicheln” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #15,755 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #15,755
- frequency rank, German
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - etwas/jemanden streicheln; (meist mit der flachen Hand bzw. mit den Fingern) sanft über das Äußere eines Tieres, Menschen oder selten auch Gegenstandes fahren
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | streicheln |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çl̩n] |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #15,755 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “streicheln” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for streicheln is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çl̩n]. Corpus data places it at rank #15,755 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for streicheln, with forms such as "srteicheln", "sstreicheln", and "stericheln". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Strichen", "streichen", "Streicher", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is streicheln, spelled S-T-R-E-I-C-H-E-L-N.
Definition
- 1etwas/jemanden streicheln; (meist mit der flachen Hand bzw. mit den Fingern) sanft über das Äußere eines Tieres, Menschen oder selten auch Gegenstandes fahren
- 2etwas/jemanden streicheln; (meist mit der flachen Hand bzw. mit den Fingern) sanft über das Äußere eines Tieres, Menschen oder selten auch Gegenstandes fahren
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: srteicheln,sstreicheln,stericheln,streciheln,streiccheln,streicehln,streichelln,streichelnn,streichenl,streichheln,streichlen,streihceln,striecheln,strreicheln,sttreicheln,tsreicheln
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of streicheln - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "streicheln"?
What does "streicheln" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "streicheln"?
How do you pronounce "streicheln"?
What language does "streicheln" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “streicheln”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is S-T-R-E-I-C-H-E-L-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈʃtʁaɪ̯çl̩n] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Strichen” - see the side-by-side comparison. streicheln vs Strichen
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.