steigenvsStilenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,127
“steigen” frequency rank
#49,273
“Stilen” frequency rank
51400
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature steigen Stilen
Definition in die Höhe gehen, sich nach oben bewegen Dativ Plural des Substantivs Stil

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set steigen and Stilen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
steigen
6 ch
Stilen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steigen is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩] while Stilen is [ˈʃtiːlən]. 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 51400, 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]. Stilen is at rank #49,273, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtiːlən].

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 51400, this pair ranks #1,136,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of steigen vs Stilen

Shared letters: einst. Private to "steigen": g. Private to "Stilen": l.

"steigen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "Stilen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • steigensetigen · ssteigen · stegien · steiegn · steigenn · steiggen · steigne · stteigen
  • Stilensitlen · sstilen · stieln · stilenn · stilne · stlien · sttilen · tsilen

Frequency comparison

steigen#2,127
Stilen#49,273

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "steigen" and "Stilen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "steigen" is a verb and "Stilen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "steigen" or "Stilen"?
"steigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,127 in our German list, against #49,273 for "Stilen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering steigen vs Stilen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “steigen”; for a noun, it's “Stilen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “steigen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list