Which to use
“stecke” and “stehle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,004
- “stecke” frequency rank
- #39,045
- “stehle” frequency rank
- 55049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stecke | stehle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stecken | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen |
Where the eye mixes stecke and stehle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. stecke and stehle follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses stecke with stehle
A purely visual mix-up. stecke ([ˈʃtɛkə]) and stehle ([ˈʃteːlə]) 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 55049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stecke is recorded at frequency rank #16,004, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛkə]. stehle is at rank #39,045, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃteːlə].
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 55049, this pair ranks #994,721 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stecke vs stehle
Shared letters: est. Private to "stecke": ck. Private to "stehle": hl.
"stecke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "stehle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stecke" for "stehle" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "stecke" or "stehle" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "stecke" and "stehle" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "stecke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stehle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #994,721 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stecke" and "stehle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stehle vs Stuhls". 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 #994,721 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.