Which to use
“stehen” and “sterben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #297
- “stehen” frequency rank
- #1,336
- “sterben” frequency rank
- 1633
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehen | sterben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich auf den Beinen ohne Ortsveränderung aufhalten | aufhören zu leben |
Where the eye mixes stehen and sterben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stehen vs sterben
A purely visual mix-up. stehen ([ˈʃteːən]) and sterben ([ˈʃtɛʁbn̩]) 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 1633, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stehen is recorded at frequency rank #297, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃteːən]. sterben is at rank #1,336, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁbn̩].
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 1633, this pair ranks #2,003,991 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stehen vs sterben
Shared letters: enst. Private to "stehen": h. Private to "sterben": br.
"stehen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "sterben" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "stehen" and "sterben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "stehen" vs "sterben" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "sterben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,003,991 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehen" and "sterben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sterben vs Stuben". 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 #2,003,991 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.