Which to use
“steile” and “steiler” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,421
- “steile” frequency rank
- #34,383
- “steiler” frequency rank
- 48804
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steile | steiler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steil | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs steil |
Where the eye mixes steile and steiler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses steile with steiler
A purely visual mix-up. steile ([ˈʃtaɪ̯lə]) and steiler ([ˈʃtaɪ̯lɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “steile” sits inside “steiler”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48804, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
steile is recorded at frequency rank #14,421, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯lə]. 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 48804, this pair ranks #1,235,032 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of steile vs steiler
Shared letters: eilst. Private to "steile": -. Private to "steiler": r.
"steile" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "steiler" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "steile" for "steiler" ever safe?
Frequency check: "steile" vs "steiler" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "steile" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steiler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,235,032 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steile" and "steiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steiler 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 #1,235,032 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.