Which to use
“steige” is a verb and “steil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,491
- “steige” frequency rank
- #9,636
- “steil” frequency rank
- 23127
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steige | steil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs steigen | von der Waagerechten stark abweichend, entweder ansteigend oder abfallend (auch figurativ) |
Where the eye mixes steige and steil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: steige vs steil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steige is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡə] while steil is [ʃtaɪ̯l]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23127, 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]. steil is at rank #9,636, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃtaɪ̯l].
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 23127, this pair ranks #1,865,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of steige vs steil
Shared letters: eist. Private to "steige": g. Private to "steil": l.
"steige" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "steil" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "steige" and "steil" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "steige" or "steil" show up more?
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 "steil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,865,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steige" and "steil" 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 #1,865,450 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.