stehlevsStuhlWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: stehle is a verb, Stuhl is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“stehle” is a verb and “Stuhl” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,045
“stehle” frequency rank
#4,162
“Stuhl” frequency rank
43207
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stehle Stuhl
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehlen (Sitz-)Möbel, meist mit vier hohen Beinen, Rückenlehne und eventuell Armlehnen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set stehle and Stuhl apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
stehle
5 ch
Stuhl

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stehle is [ˈʃteːlə] while Stuhl is [ʃtuːl]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43207, 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]. Stuhl is at rank #4,162, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtuːl].

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 43207, this pair ranks #1,425,363 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of stehle vs Stuhl

Shared letters: hlst. Private to "stehle": e. Private to "Stuhl": u.

"stehle" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Stuhl" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stehlesethle · sstehle · stehel · stehhle · stehlle · stelhe · sthele · sttehle
  • Stuhlsstuhl · sthul · sttuhl · stuhhl · stuhll · stulh · suthl · tsuhl

Frequency comparison

stehle#39,045
Stuhl#4,162

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "stehle" and "Stuhl" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "stehle" is a verb and "Stuhl" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "stehle" or "Stuhl"?
"Stuhl" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,162 in our German list, against #39,045 for "stehle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering stehle vs Stuhl

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “stehle”; for a noun, it's “Stuhl”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “stehle” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list