Which to use
“stehe” is a verb and “Stufe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,179
- “stehe” frequency rank
- #2,997
- “Stufe” frequency rank
- 5176
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehe | Stufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehen | meist einzelner Teil einer Treppe, der zum Höher- oder Tiefersteigen dient, Trittfläche |
Where the eye mixes stehe and Stufe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between stehe and Stufe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stehe is [ˈʃteːə] while Stufe is [ˈʃtuːfə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5176, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stehe is recorded at frequency rank #2,179, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃteːə]. Stufe is at rank #2,997, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtuːfə].
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 5176, this pair ranks #1,995,576 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stehe vs Stufe
Shared letters: est. Private to "stehe": h. Private to "Stufe": fu.
"stehe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "Stufe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stehe" for "Stufe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "stehe" vs "Stufe" - 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 "stehe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stufe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,995,576 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehe" and "Stufe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stufe vs Stuten". 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 #1,995,576 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.