Stufen

Stufen is the plural form of Stufe in German, meaning a step, rung, level, or stage. The word is widely used in everyday language as well as in specialized contexts to indicate a discrete unit in a progression or a physical step.

In daily use, a Stufe is a single tread on a staircase. The term is also used in architecture and construction to describe any flat surface designed to be stepped on, and in safety and accessibility discussions to specify step dimensions.

In mathematics and related disciplines, a step function is known in German as Stufenfunktion, a piecewise constant function that changes value at a finite number of points, producing a stair-like graph. The concept underpins the idea of discrete levels in models and data.

In education and organization, Stufen denote levels or stages of development, curricula, or organizational hierarchies, for example schooling stages such as Grundschule or Sekundarstufe. The term is also used in planning and process design to segment activities into distinct stages or phases.