Which to use
“steife” is an adjective and “Stufe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,248
- “steife” frequency rank
- #2,997
- “Stufe” frequency rank
- 47245
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steife | Stufe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steif | meist einzelner Teil einer Treppe, der zum Höher- oder Tiefersteigen dient, Trittfläche |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set steife and Stufe apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steife is [ˈʃtaɪ̯fə] while Stufe is [ˈʃtuːfə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47245, 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]. Stufe is at rank #2,997, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtuːfə].
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 47245, this pair ranks #1,291,160 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of steife vs Stufe
Shared letters: efst. Private to "steife": i. Private to "Stufe": u.
"steife" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "Stufe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "steife" and "Stufe" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "steife" or "Stufe"?
Remembering steife vs Stufe
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “steife”; for a noun, it's “Stufe”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “steife” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable