Which to use
“steif” and “steife” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,946
- “steif” frequency rank
- #44,248
- “steife” frequency rank
- 58194
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steif | steife |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unbiegsam, fest, starr | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steif |
Where the eye mixes steif and steife
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: steif vs steife
A purely visual mix-up. steif ([ʃtaɪ̯f]) and steife ([ˈʃtaɪ̯fə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “steif” sits inside “steife”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58194, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
steif is recorded at frequency rank #13,946, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃtaɪ̯f]. steife is at rank #44,248, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯fə].
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 58194, this pair ranks #872,154 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of steif vs steife
Shared letters: efist. Private to "steif": -. Private to "steife": -.
"steif" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "steife" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "steif" for "steife" ever safe?
Frequency check: "steif" vs "steife" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "steif" and "steife" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "steif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steife" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #872,154 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steif" and "steife" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steife vs Stele". 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 #872,154 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.