Which to use
“steige” and “sterbe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,491
- “steige” frequency rank
- #9,988
- “sterbe” frequency rank
- 23479
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steige | sterbe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs steigen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sterben |
Where the eye mixes steige and sterbe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between steige and sterbe
A purely visual mix-up. steige ([ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡə]) and sterbe ([ˈʃtɛʁbə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23479, 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]. sterbe is at rank #9,988, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁbə].
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 23479, this pair ranks #1,860,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of steige vs sterbe
Shared letters: est. Private to "steige": gi. Private to "sterbe": br.
"steige" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "sterbe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "steige" for "sterbe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "steige" vs "sterbe" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "steige" and "sterbe" 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 "sterbe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,860,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steige" and "sterbe" 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 #1,860,776 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.