SteigungvsStellungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Steigung” and “Stellung” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,151
“Steigung” frequency rank
#2,742
“Stellung” frequency rank
24893
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Steigung Stellung
Definition Steilheitsgrad (allgemein) und speziell in Aufwärtsrichtung berufliche Position

Where the eye mixes Steigung and Stellung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Steigung (CCVVCVCC) and Stellung (CCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
Steigung
8 ch
Stellung

Visual trap between Steigung and Stellung

A purely visual mix-up. Steigung ([ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡʊŋ]) and Stellung ([ˈʃtɛlʊŋ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24893, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Steigung is recorded at frequency rank #22,151, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡʊŋ]. Stellung is at rank #2,742, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɛlʊŋ].

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 24893, this pair ranks #1,841,129 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Steigung vs Stellung

Shared letters: egnstu. Private to "Steigung": i. Private to "Stellung": l.

"Steigung" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC  ·  "Stellung" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Steigung ← setigung · ssteigung · stegiung · steiggung · steignug · steigugn · steigungg · steigunng
  • Stellung ← setllung · sstellung · stellnug · stellugn · stellungg · stellunng · stelulng · stelung

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Steigung" for "Stellung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡʊŋ] versus [ˈʃtɛlʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Steigung" vs "Stellung" - which ranks higher?
"Stellung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,742 in our German list, against #22,151 for "Steigung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Steigung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stellung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,841,129 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Steigung" and "Stellung" 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 #1,841,129 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