steigernvssteilerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: steigern is a verb, steiler is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“steigern” is a verb and “steiler” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,428
“steigern” frequency rank
#34,383
“steiler” frequency rank
39811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature steigern steiler
Definition etwas oder sich größer, stärker, intensiver oder höher machen oder dazu bringen, es zu werden Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs steil

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set steigern and steiler apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
steigern
7 ch
steiler

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steigern is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡɐn] while steiler is [ˈʃtaɪ̯lɐ]. 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 39811, 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]. steiler is at rank #34,383, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯lɐ].

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 39811, this pair ranks #1,526,229 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of steigern vs steiler

Shared letters: eirst. Private to "steigern": gn. Private to "steiler": l.

"steigern" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC  ·  "steiler" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • steigernsetigern · ssteigern · stegiern · steiegrn · steigenr · steigernn · steigerrn · steiggern
  • steilersetiler · ssteiler · steielr · steilerr · steiller · steilre · stelier · stieler

Frequency comparison

steigern#5,428
steiler#34,383

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "steigern" and "steiler" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "steigern" is a verb and "steiler" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "steigern" or "steiler"?
"steigern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,428 in our German list, against #34,383 for "steiler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering steigern vs steiler

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “steigern”; for an adjective, it's “steiler”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “steigern” 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