StahlvsStühleConfusable pair

Which to use

“Stahl” and “Stühle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,620
“Stahl” frequency rank
#10,574
“Stühle” frequency rank
14194
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stahl Stühle
Definition metallische Legierung, deren Hauptbestandteil Eisen ist; der Kohlenstoffgehalt liegt zwischen 0,02% und 2,06%. Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Stuhl

Where the eye mixes Stahl and Stühle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Stahl
6 ch
Stühle

Why the eye confuses Stahl with Stühle

A purely visual mix-up. Stahl ([ʃtaːl]) and Stühle ([ˈʃtyːlə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14194, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stahl is recorded at frequency rank #3,620, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtaːl]. Stühle is at rank #10,574, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtyːlə].

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 14194, this pair ranks #1,952,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stahl vs Stühle

Shared letters: hlst. Private to "Stahl": a. Private to "Stühle": .

"Stahl" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Stühle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stahlsathl · sstahl · stahhl · stahll · stalh · sthal · sttahl · tsahl

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Stahl" and "Stühle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtaːl] versus [ˈʃtyːlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Stahl" vs "Stühle" - which ranks higher?
"Stahl" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,620 in our German list, against #10,574 for "Stühle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stahl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stühle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,952,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stahl" and "Stühle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stühle vs Stuhls". 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 #1,952,931 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list