Which to use
“steige” is a verb and “Stele” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,491
- “steige” frequency rank
- #40,226
- “Stele” frequency rank
- 53717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steige | Stele |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs steigen | Grabstein, Gedenkstein der Antike, Pfeiler mit einer Inschrift- oder Bildtafel; heute auch moderne freistehende Informationstafel |
Where the eye mixes steige and Stele
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses steige with Stele
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steige is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡə] while Stele is [ˈʃteːlə]. 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 53717, 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]. Stele is at rank #40,226, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃteːlə].
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 53717, this pair ranks #1,047,101 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of steige vs Stele
Shared letters: est. Private to "steige": gi. Private to "Stele": l.
"steige" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "Stele" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "steige" for "Stele" ever safe?
Frequency check: "steige" vs "Stele" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "steige" and "Stele" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "steige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stele" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,047,101 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steige" and "Stele" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stele vs Stilen". 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 #1,047,101 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.