Which to use
“selbst” is a pronoun and “stellst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #122
- “selbst” frequency rank
- #9,987
- “stellst” frequency rank
- 10109
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | selbst | stellst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | persönlich (immer in Kontrast zu anderen Möglichkeiten, die im Kontext enthalten sind) | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stellen |
Where the eye mixes selbst and stellst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. selbst runs 6 letters (CVCCCC) against stellst's 7 (CCVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: selbst vs stellst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: selbst is [zɛlpst] while stellst is [ʃtɛlst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
selbst is recorded at frequency rank #122, classified as apron, pronounced [zɛlpst]. stellst is at rank #9,987, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtɛlst].
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 10109, this pair ranks #1,976,749 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of selbst vs stellst
Shared letters: elst. Private to "selbst": b. Private to "stellst": -.
"selbst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC · "stellst" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "selbst" for "stellst" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "selbst" or "stellst" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "selbst" and "stellst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "selbst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stellst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,749 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "selbst" and "stellst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steigst vs stellst". 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 #1,976,749 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.