Which to use
“stehle” and “stell” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,045
- “stehle” frequency rank
- #3,077
- “stell” frequency rank
- 42122
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehle | stell |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stellen |
Where the eye mixes stehle and stell
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stehle vs stell
A purely visual mix-up. stehle ([ˈʃteːlə]) and stell ([ʃtɛl]) 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 42122, 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]. stell is at rank #3,077, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtɛl].
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 42122, this pair ranks #1,458,916 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stehle vs stell
Shared letters: elst. Private to "stehle": h. Private to "stell": -.
"stehle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "stell" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "stehle" and "stell" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "stehle" or "stell"?
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 "stell" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,458,916 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehle" and "stell" 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 #1,458,916 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.