stehnvsstöhntWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“stehn” and “stöhnt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,938
“stehn” frequency rank
#37,233
“stöhnt” frequency rank
62171
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stehn stöhnt
Definition stehen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stöhnen

Where the eye mixes stehn and stöhnt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. stehn runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against stöhnt's 6 (CCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
stehn
6 ch
stöhnt

Why the eye confuses stehn with stöhnt

A purely visual mix-up. stehn ([ʃteːn]) and stöhnt ([ʃtøːnt]) 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 62171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stehn is recorded at frequency rank #24,938, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃteːn]. stöhnt is at rank #37,233, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtøːnt].

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 62171, this pair ranks #722,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of stehn vs stöhnt

Shared letters: hnst. Private to "stehn": e. Private to "stöhnt": ö.

"stehn" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "stöhnt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stehn ← sethn · sstehn · stehhn · stehnn · stenh · sthen · sttehn · tsehn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "stehn" and "stöhnt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃteːn] versus [ʃtøːnt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "stehn" vs "stöhnt" - which ranks higher?
"stehn" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,938 in our German list, against #37,233 for "stöhnt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "stehn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stöhnt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #722,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stehn" and "stöhnt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stöhnt vs stopft". 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 #722,597 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list