Which to use
“stechen” and “stehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,986
- “stechen” frequency rank
- #297
- “stehen” frequency rank
- 10283
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stechen | stehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen spitzen Gegenstand wie eine Nadel in einen anderen Gegenstand treiben | sich auf den Beinen ohne Ortsveränderung aufhalten |
Where the eye mixes stechen and stehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stechen vs stehen
A purely visual mix-up. stechen ([ˈʃtɛçn̩]) and stehen ([ˈʃteːən]) 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 10283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stechen is recorded at frequency rank #9,986, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛçn̩]. stehen is at rank #297, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃteːən].
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 10283, this pair ranks #1,975,895 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stechen vs stehen
Shared letters: ehnst. Private to "stechen": c. Private to "stehen": -.
"stechen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "stehen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stechen" for "stehen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "stechen" vs "stehen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "stechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,975,895 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stechen" and "stehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Speichen vs stechen". 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 #1,975,895 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.