steigenvsSteigungConfusable pair

Quick tell: steigen is a verb, Steigung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“steigen” is a verb and “Steigung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,127
“steigen” frequency rank
#22,151
“Steigung” frequency rank
24278
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature steigen Steigung
Definition in die Höhe gehen, sich nach oben bewegen Steilheitsgrad (allgemein) und speziell in Aufwärtsrichtung

Where the eye mixes steigen and Steigung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. steigen runs 7 letters (CCVVCVC) against Steigung's 8 (CCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
steigen
8 ch
Steigung

Look-alike desk: steigen vs Steigung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steigen is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩] while Steigung is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡʊŋ]. 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 24278, 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]. Steigung is at rank #22,151, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡʊŋ].

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 24278, this pair ranks #1,849,886 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of steigen vs Steigung

Shared letters: eginst. Private to "steigen": -. Private to "Steigung": u.

"steigen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "Steigung" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • steigen ← setigen · ssteigen · stegien · steiegn · steigenn · steiggen · steigne · stteigen
  • Steigung ← setigung · ssteigung · stegiung · steiggung · steignug · steigugn · steigungg · steigunng

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "steigen" and "Steigung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "steigen" is a verb and "Steigung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "steigen" or "Steigung"?
"steigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,127 in our German list, against #22,151 for "Steigung". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "steigen" and "Steigung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "steigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Steigung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,849,886 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "steigen" and "Steigung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Steigung vs Steigungen". 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 #1,849,886 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list