Which to use
“stehlen” and “steigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,810
- “stehlen” frequency rank
- #2,127
- “steigen” frequency rank
- 11937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehlen | steigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas aus dem Besitz eines anderen ohne dessen Einverständnis wegnehmen; einen Diebstahl begehen | in die Höhe gehen, sich nach oben bewegen |
Where the eye mixes stehlen and steigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. stehlen (CCVCCVC) and steigen (CCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses stehlen with steigen
A purely visual mix-up. stehlen ([ˈʃteːlən]) and steigen ([ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stehlen is recorded at frequency rank #9,810, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃteːlən]. steigen is at rank #2,127, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩].
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 11937, this pair ranks #1,967,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stehlen vs steigen
Shared letters: enst. Private to "stehlen": hl. Private to "steigen": gi.
"stehlen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "steigen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "stehlen" and "steigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "stehlen" vs "steigen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "stehlen" and "steigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "stehlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,967,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehlen" and "steigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stehlen 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 #1,967,120 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.