Which to use
“stehlen” and “stellen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,810
- “stehlen” frequency rank
- #370
- “stellen” frequency rank
- 10180
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehlen | stellen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas aus dem Besitz eines anderen ohne dessen Einverständnis wegnehmen; einen Diebstahl begehen | senkrecht, mit den Füßen den Boden, einen bestimmten Platz oder Gegenstand berührend, in eine bestimmte oder übliche Position bringen |
Where the eye mixes stehlen and stellen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses stehlen with stellen
A purely visual mix-up. stehlen ([ˈʃteːlən]) and stellen ([ˈʃtɛlən]) 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 a single letter - h in “stehlen” becomes l in “stellen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10180, 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]. stellen is at rank #370, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛlən].
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 10180, this pair ranks #1,976,396 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stehlen vs stellen
Shared letters: elnst. Private to "stehlen": h. Private to "stellen": -.
"stehlen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "stellen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stehlen" for "stellen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "stehlen" or "stellen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "stehlen" and "stellen" 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 "stellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,976,396 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehlen" and "stellen" 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 #1,976,396 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.