Which to use
“stehen” and “stehle” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #297
- “stehen” frequency rank
- #39,045
- “stehle” frequency rank
- 39342
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehen | stehle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich auf den Beinen ohne Ortsveränderung aufhalten | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen |
Where the eye mixes stehen and stehle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stehen vs stehle
A purely visual mix-up. stehen ([ˈʃteːən]) 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 39342, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stehen is recorded at frequency rank #297, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃteːən]. 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 39342, this pair ranks #1,539,420 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stehen vs stehle
Shared letters: ehst. Private to "stehen": n. Private to "stehle": l.
"stehen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "stehle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stehen" for "stehle" ever safe?
Frequency check: "stehen" vs "stehle" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "stehen" 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 #1,539,420 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehen" 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 #1,539,420 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.