Which to use
“stehlen” and “stöhnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,810
- “stehlen” frequency rank
- #20,423
- “stöhnen” frequency rank
- 30233
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stehlen | stöhnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas aus dem Besitz eines anderen ohne dessen Einverständnis wegnehmen; einen Diebstahl begehen | aufgrund von Anstrengung, Erregung oder Schmerz unartikulierte Laute hervorstoßen |
Where the eye mixes stehlen and stöhnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stehlen vs stöhnen
A purely visual mix-up. stehlen ([ˈʃteːlən]) and stöhnen ([ˈʃtøːnən]) 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 30233, 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]. stöhnen is at rank #20,423, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtøːnən].
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 30233, this pair ranks #1,751,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stehlen vs stöhnen
Shared letters: ehnst. Private to "stehlen": l. Private to "stöhnen": ö.
"stehlen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "stöhnen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- stehlen ← sethlen · sstehlen · steheln · stehhlen · stehlenn · stehllen · stehlne · stelhen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stehlen" for "stöhnen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "stehlen" or "stöhnen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "stehlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stöhnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,751,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stehlen" and "stöhnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stöhnen vs Strähnen". 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 #1,751,855 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.