SteakvsSternConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,490
“Steak” frequency rank
#2,617
“Stern” frequency rank
16107
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Steak Stern
Definition zum Kurzbraten oder Grillen geeignete Fleischscheibe massereiche, selbst leuchtende Gaskugel, Himmelskörper

Where the eye mixes Steak and Stern

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

5 ch
Steak
5 ch
Stern

Why the eye confuses Steak with Stern

A purely visual mix-up. Steak ([stɛɪ̯k]) and Stern ([ʃtɛʁn]) 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 16107, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Steak is recorded at frequency rank #13,490, classified as anoun, pronounced [stɛɪ̯k]. Stern is at rank #2,617, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtɛʁn].

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 16107, this pair ranks #1,938,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Steak vs Stern

Shared letters: est. Private to "Steak": ak. Private to "Stern": nr.

"Steak" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "Stern" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Steaksetak · ssteak · staek · steakk · steka · stteak · tseak
  • Sternsetrn · sstern · stenr · sternn · sterrn · stren · sttern · tsern

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Steak" for "Stern" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([stɛɪ̯k] versus [ʃtɛʁn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Steak" vs "Stern" - which ranks higher?
"Stern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,617 in our German list, against #13,490 for "Steak". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Steak" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,938,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Steak" and "Stern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Steak 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 #1,938,537 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