Which to use
“stehle” and “steige” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,045
- “stehle” frequency rank
- #13,491
- “steige” frequency rank
- 52536
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehle | steige |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs steigen |
Where the eye mixes stehle and steige
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stehle vs steige
A purely visual mix-up. stehle ([ˈʃteːlə]) and steige ([ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡə]) 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 52536, 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]. steige is at rank #13,491, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡə].
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 52536, this pair ranks #1,092,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stehle vs steige
Shared letters: est. Private to "stehle": hl. Private to "steige": gi.
"stehle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "steige" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "stehle" and "steige" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "stehle" or "steige"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "stehle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,092,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehle" and "steige" 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 #1,092,931 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.