Which to use
“stehle” and “stiehlt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,045
- “stehle” frequency rank
- #24,526
- “stiehlt” frequency rank
- 63571
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehle | stiehlt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen |
Where the eye mixes stehle and stiehlt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. stehle runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against stiehlt's 7 (CCVVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: stehle vs stiehlt
A purely visual mix-up. stehle ([ˈʃteːlə]) and stiehlt ([ʃtiːlt]) 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 63571, 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]. stiehlt is at rank #24,526, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtiːlt].
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 63571, this pair ranks #672,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stehle vs stiehlt
Shared letters: ehlst. Private to "stehle": -. Private to "stiehlt": i.
"stehle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "stiehlt" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stehle" for "stiehlt" ever safe?
Which is more common, "stehle" or "stiehlt"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "stehle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stiehlt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #672,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehle" and "stiehlt" 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 #672,052 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.