Which to use
“steife” and “steile” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,248
- “steife” frequency rank
- #14,421
- “steile” frequency rank
- 58669
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steife | steile |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steif | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steil |
Where the eye mixes steife and steile
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between steife and steile
A purely visual mix-up. steife ([ˈʃtaɪ̯fə]) and steile ([ˈʃtaɪ̯lə]) 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 a single letter - f in “steife” becomes l in “steile”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58669, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
steife is recorded at frequency rank #44,248, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯fə]. steile is at rank #14,421, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯lə].
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 58669, this pair ranks #853,814 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of steife vs steile
Shared letters: eist. Private to "steife": f. Private to "steile": l.
"steife" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "steile" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "steife" and "steile" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "steife" or "steile"?
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 "steife" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steile" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #853,814 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steife" and "steile" 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 #853,814 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.