steigevssteigertTell them apart

Which to use

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

#13,491
“steige” frequency rank
#10,946
“steigert” frequency rank
24437
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature steige steigert
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs steigen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs steigern

Where the eye mixes steige and steigert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
steige
8 ch
steigert

Look-alike desk: steige vs steigert

A purely visual mix-up. steige ([ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡə]) and steigert ([ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡɐt]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “steige” sits inside “steigert”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24437, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

steige is recorded at frequency rank #13,491, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡə]. steigert is at rank #10,946, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡɐt].

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 24437, this pair ranks #1,847,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of steige vs steigert

Shared letters: egist. Private to "steige": -. Private to "steigert": r.

"steige" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV  ·  "steigert" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • steigesetige · ssteige · stegie · steieg · steigge · stteige · tseige
  • steigertsetigert · ssteigert · stegiert · steiegrt · steigerrt · steigertt · steigetr · steiggert

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "steige" for "steigert" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡə] versus [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡɐt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "steige" or "steigert" show up more?
"steigert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,946 in our German list, against #13,491 for "steige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "steige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "steigert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,847,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "steige" and "steigert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steige vs steigst". 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 #1,847,658 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