stevsstetsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ste is a verb, stets is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ste” is a verb and “stets” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,778
“ste” frequency rank
#1,337
“stets” frequency rank
27115
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ste stets
Definition 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs biti zu jeder Zeit, immer

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ste and stets apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ste
5 ch
stets

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ste and stets form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ste” sits inside “stets” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ste is recorded at frequency rank #25,778, classified as averb, pronounced […]. stets is at rank #1,337, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ʃteːt͡s].

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 27115, this pair ranks #1,807,125 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

ste#25,778
stets#1,337

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ste" and "stets" be used interchangeably?
No, "ste" and "stets" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering ste vs stets

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ste”; for an adverb, it's “stets”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ste” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list