SteigungenvsStellungenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#36,645
“Steigungen” frequency rank
#11,534
“Stellungen” frequency rank
48179
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Steigungen Stellungen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Steigung Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Stellung

Where the eye mixes Steigungen and Stellungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Steigungen (CCVVCVCCVC) and Stellungen (CCVCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

10 ch
Steigungen
10 ch
Stellungen

Why the eye confuses Steigungen with Stellungen

A purely visual mix-up. Steigungen ([ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡʊŋən]) and Stellungen ([ˈʃtɛlʊŋən]) 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 48179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Steigungen is recorded at frequency rank #36,645, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡʊŋən]. Stellungen is at rank #11,534, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɛlʊŋən].

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 48179, this pair ranks #1,257,962 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Steigungen vs Stellungen

Shared letters: egnstu. Private to "Steigungen": i. Private to "Stellungen": l.

"Steigungen" · 10 letters · shape CCVVCVCCVC  ·  "Stellungen" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Steigungen ← setigungen · ssteigungen · stegiungen · steiggungen · steignugen · steigugnen · steigunegn · steigungenn
  • Stellungen ← setllungen · sstellungen · stellnugen · stellugnen · stellunegn · stellungenn · stellunggen · stellungne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Steigungen" for "Stellungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtaɪ̯ɡʊŋən] versus [ˈʃtɛlʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Steigungen" or "Stellungen" show up more?
"Stellungen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,534 in our German list, against #36,645 for "Steigungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Steigungen" and "Stellungen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Steigungen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stellungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,257,962 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Steigungen" and "Stellungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Steigerungen 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 #1,257,962 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