Which to use
“steige” is a verb and “Stein” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,491
- “steige” frequency rank
- #1,863
- “Stein” frequency rank
- 15354
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steige | Stein |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs steigen | mineralisches Material |
Where the eye mixes steige and Stein
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses steige with Stein
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steige is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡə] while Stein is [ʃtaɪ̯n]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15354, 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]. Stein is at rank #1,863, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtaɪ̯n].
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 15354, this pair ranks #1,944,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of steige vs Stein
Shared letters: eist. Private to "steige": g. Private to "Stein": n.
"steige" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "Stein" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "steige" for "Stein" ever safe?
Which is more common, "steige" or "Stein"?
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 "steige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stein" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,944,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steige" and "Stein" 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 #1,944,534 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.