Which to use
“stehle” is a verb and “steil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,045
- “stehle” frequency rank
- #9,636
- “steil” frequency rank
- 48681
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehle | steil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen | von der Waagerechten stark abweichend, entweder ansteigend oder abfallend (auch figurativ) |
Where the eye mixes stehle and steil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stehle vs steil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stehle is [ˈʃteːlə] while steil is [ʃtaɪ̯l]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48681, 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]. steil is at rank #9,636, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃtaɪ̯l].
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 48681, this pair ranks #1,239,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stehle vs steil
Shared letters: elst. Private to "stehle": h. Private to "steil": i.
"stehle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "steil" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "stehle" and "steil" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "stehle" or "steil"?
What to do next
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 "steil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,239,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehle" and "steil" 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 #1,239,575 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.