Which to use
“steh” and “stehle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,884
- “steh” frequency rank
- #39,045
- “stehle” frequency rank
- 44929
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steh | stehle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen |
Where the eye mixes steh and stehle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses steh with stehle
A purely visual mix-up. steh ([ʃteː]) 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 differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “steh” sits inside “stehle”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44929, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
steh is recorded at frequency rank #5,884, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃteː]. 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 44929, this pair ranks #1,370,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of steh vs stehle
Shared letters: ehst. Private to "steh": -. Private to "stehle": l.
"steh" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "stehle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "steh" and "stehle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "steh" or "stehle" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "steh" 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 #1,370,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steh" 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 #1,370,055 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.