stehlevsstehnWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“stehle” and “stehn” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#39,045
“stehle” frequency rank
#24,938
“stehn” frequency rank
63983
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stehle stehn
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen stehen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set stehle and stehn apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
stehle
5 ch
stehn

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. stehle ([ˈʃteːlə]) and stehn ([ʃteːn]) 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 63983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stehle is recorded at frequency rank #39,045, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃteːlə]. stehn is at rank #24,938, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃteːn].

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 63983, this pair ranks #657,447 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of stehle vs stehn

Shared letters: ehst. Private to "stehle": l. Private to "stehn": n.

"stehle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "stehn" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stehlesethle · sstehle · stehel · stehhle · stehlle · stelhe · sthele · sttehle
  • stehnsethn · sstehn · stehhn · stehnn · stenh · sthen · sttehn · tsehn

Frequency comparison

stehle#39,045
stehn#24,938

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "stehle" and "stehn" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃteːlə] versus [ʃteːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "stehle" or "stehn"?
"stehn" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,938 in our German list, against #39,045 for "stehle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering stehle vs stehn

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “stehle” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list