Which to use
“steife” and “steilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,248
- “steife” frequency rank
- #13,947
- “steilen” frequency rank
- 58195
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steife | steilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steif | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steil |
Where the eye mixes steife and steilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between steife and steilen
A purely visual mix-up. steife ([ˈʃtaɪ̯fə]) and steilen ([ˈʃtaɪ̯lən]) 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 58195, 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]. steilen is at rank #13,947, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯lən].
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 58195, this pair ranks #872,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of steife vs steilen
Shared letters: eist. Private to "steife": f. Private to "steilen": ln.
"steife" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "steilen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "steife" for "steilen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "steife" or "steilen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "steife" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #872,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steife" and "steilen" 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 #872,113 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.