Which to use
“steigern” is a verb and “steilen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,428
- “steigern” frequency rank
- #13,947
- “steilen” frequency rank
- 19375
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steigern | steilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas oder sich größer, stärker, intensiver oder höher machen oder dazu bringen, es zu werden | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steil |
Where the eye mixes steigern and steilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. steigern runs 8 letters (CCVVCVCC) against steilen's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses steigern with steilen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steigern is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡɐn] while steilen is [ˈʃtaɪ̯lən]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19375, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
steigern is recorded at frequency rank #5,428, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡɐn]. steilen is at rank #13,947, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯lən].
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 19375, this pair ranks #1,909,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of steigern vs steilen
Shared letters: einst. Private to "steigern": gr. Private to "steilen": l.
"steigern" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC · "steilen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "steigern" and "steilen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "steigern" vs "steilen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "steigern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,909,000 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steigern" and "steilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steilen 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 #1,909,000 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.