Which to use
“stehlen” and “stellten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,810
- “stehlen” frequency rank
- #4,389
- “stellten” frequency rank
- 14199
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehlen | stellten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas aus dem Besitz eines anderen ohne dessen Einverständnis wegnehmen; einen Diebstahl begehen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stellen |
Where the eye mixes stehlen and stellten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. stehlen runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against stellten's 8 (CCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses stehlen with stellten
A purely visual mix-up. stehlen ([ˈʃteːlən]) and stellten ([ˈʃtɛltn̩]) 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 14199, 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]. stellten is at rank #4,389, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛltn̩].
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 14199, this pair ranks #1,952,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stehlen vs stellten
Shared letters: elnst. Private to "stehlen": h. Private to "stellten": -.
"stehlen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "stellten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stehlen" for "stellten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "stehlen" vs "stellten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "stehlen" and "stellten" 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 "stellten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,952,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehlen" and "stellten" 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 #1,952,899 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.