Which to use
“steigen” is a verb and “steigende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,127
- “steigen” frequency rank
- #8,283
- “steigende” frequency rank
- 10410
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steigen | steigende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in die Höhe gehen, sich nach oben bewegen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs steigend |
Where the eye mixes steigen and steigende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses steigen with steigende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steigen is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩] while steigende is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “steigen” sits inside “steigende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
steigen is recorded at frequency rank #2,127, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]. steigende is at rank #8,283, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩də].
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 10410, this pair ranks #1,975,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of steigen vs steigende
Shared letters: eginst. Private to "steigen": -. Private to "steigende": d.
"steigen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "steigende" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "steigen" and "steigende" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "steigen" or "steigende" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "steigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steigende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,975,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steigen" and "steigende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steigen 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 #1,975,282 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.