StausvsstepsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#23,322
“Staus” frequency rank
#47,751
“steps” frequency rank
71073
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Staus steps
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Stau Plural des Substantivs step

Where the eye mixes Staus and steps

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Staus
5 ch
steps

Look-alike desk: Staus vs steps

A purely visual mix-up. Staus ([ʃtaʊ̯s]) and steps ([stɛps]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Staus is recorded at frequency rank #23,322, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtaʊ̯s]. steps is at rank #47,751, tagged as anoun, pronounced [stɛps].

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 71073, this pair ranks #427,572 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Staus vs steps

Shared letters: st. Private to "Staus": au. Private to "steps": ep.

"Staus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "steps" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Staussatus · sstaus · stasu · stauss · stuas · tsaus
  • stepssetps · ssteps · stepps · stepss · stesp · stpes · stteps · tseps

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Staus" for "steps" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtaʊ̯s] versus [stɛps]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Staus" vs "steps" - which ranks higher?
"Staus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,322 in our German list, against #47,751 for "steps". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Staus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "steps" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #427,572 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Staus" and "steps" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "she's vs steps". 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 #427,572 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