Which to use
“seligen” is an adjective and “steigen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,903
- “seligen” frequency rank
- #2,127
- “steigen” frequency rank
- 37030
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seligen | steigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs selig | in die Höhe gehen, sich nach oben bewegen |
Where the eye mixes seligen and steigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between seligen and steigen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: seligen is [ˈzeːˌlɪɡn̩] while steigen is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37030, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seligen is recorded at frequency rank #34,903, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzeːˌlɪɡn̩]. steigen is at rank #2,127, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩].
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 37030, this pair ranks #1,600,576 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of seligen vs steigen
Shared letters: egins. Private to "seligen": l. Private to "steigen": t.
"seligen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "steigen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "seligen" for "steigen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "seligen" or "steigen"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "seligen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,600,576 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seligen" and "steigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seligen vs seliger". 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 #1,600,576 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.