Which to use
“stehlen” is a verb and “Stilen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,810
- “stehlen” frequency rank
- #49,273
- “Stilen” frequency rank
- 59083
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehlen | Stilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas aus dem Besitz eines anderen ohne dessen Einverständnis wegnehmen; einen Diebstahl begehen | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Stil |
Where the eye mixes stehlen and Stilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. stehlen runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against Stilen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: stehlen vs Stilen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stehlen is [ˈʃteːlən] while Stilen is [ˈʃtiːlən]. 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 59083, 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]. Stilen is at rank #49,273, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtiːlən].
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 59083, this pair ranks #837,980 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stehlen vs Stilen
Shared letters: elnst. Private to "stehlen": h. Private to "Stilen": i.
"stehlen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "Stilen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "stehlen" and "Stilen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "stehlen" or "Stilen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "stehlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #837,980 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehlen" and "Stilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stilen vs Stuten". 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 #837,980 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.