SteaksvsSternsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,779
“Steaks” frequency rank
#38,432
“Sterns” frequency rank
64211
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Steaks Sterns
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Steak Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Stern

Where the eye mixes Steaks and Sterns

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

6 ch
Steaks
6 ch
Sterns

Look-alike desk: Steaks vs Sterns

A purely visual mix-up. Steaks ([stɛɪ̯ks]) and Sterns ([ʃtɛʁns]) 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 64211, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Steaks is recorded at frequency rank #25,779, classified as anoun, pronounced [stɛɪ̯ks]. Sterns is at rank #38,432, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtɛʁns].

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 64211, this pair ranks #649,605 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Steaks vs Sterns

Shared letters: est. Private to "Steaks": ak. Private to "Sterns": nr.

"Steaks" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC  ·  "Sterns" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Steakssetaks · ssteaks · staeks · steakks · steakss · steask · stekas · stteaks
  • Sternssetrns · ssterns · stenrs · sternns · sternss · sterrns · stersn · strens

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Steaks" and "Sterns" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([stɛɪ̯ks] versus [ʃtɛʁns]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Steaks" vs "Sterns" - which ranks higher?
"Steaks" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,779 in our German list, against #38,432 for "Sterns". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Steaks" and "Sterns" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Steaks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sterns" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #649,605 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Steaks" and "Sterns" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steps vs Sterns". 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 #649,605 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