Which to use
“stehle” is a verb and “Stele” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,045
- “stehle” frequency rank
- #40,226
- “Stele” frequency rank
- 79271
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehle | Stele |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen | Grabstein, Gedenkstein der Antike, Pfeiler mit einer Inschrift- oder Bildtafel; heute auch moderne freistehende Informationstafel |
Same sound, different letters: stehle vs Stele
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters.
Same sound, different spelling - stehle / Stele
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: stehle and Stele carry the same recorded pronunciation, [ˈʃteːlə]. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79271, 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]. Stele is at rank #40,226, tagged as anoun, 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 79271, this pair ranks #220,062 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of stehle vs Stele
Shared letters: elst. Private to "stehle": h. Private to "Stele": -.
"stehle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "Stele" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "stehle" and "Stele" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "stehle" or "Stele"?
After this comparison
"stehle" and "Stele" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "stehle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stele" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #220,062 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehle" and "Stele" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stele vs Stilen". 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 #220,062 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.