Which to use
“steigern” is a verb and “steinerne” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,428
- “steigern” frequency rank
- #32,787
- “steinerne” frequency rank
- 38215
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steigern | steinerne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas oder sich größer, stärker, intensiver oder höher machen oder dazu bringen, es zu werden | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steinern |
Where the eye mixes steigern and steinerne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. steigern runs 8 letters (CCVVCVCC) against steinerne's 9 (CCVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between steigern and steinerne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steigern is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡɐn] while steinerne is [ˈʃtaɪ̯nɐnə]. 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 38215, 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]. steinerne is at rank #32,787, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯nɐnə].
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 38215, this pair ranks #1,569,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of steigern vs steinerne
Shared letters: einrst. Private to "steigern": g. Private to "steinerne": -.
"steigern" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC · "steinerne" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "steigern" and "steinerne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "steigern" or "steinerne" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "steigern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steinerne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,569,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steigern" and "steinerne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steinerne vs Steiners". 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 #1,569,824 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.