Which to use
“steile” is an adjective and “sterbe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,421
- “steile” frequency rank
- #9,988
- “sterbe” frequency rank
- 24409
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | steile | sterbe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steil | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sterben |
Where the eye mixes steile and sterbe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses steile with sterbe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: steile is [ˈʃtaɪ̯lə] while sterbe is [ˈʃtɛʁbə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24409, 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]. sterbe is at rank #9,988, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁbə].
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 24409, this pair ranks #1,848,069 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of steile vs sterbe
Shared letters: est. Private to "steile": il. Private to "sterbe": br.
"steile" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "sterbe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "steile" for "sterbe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "steile" vs "sterbe" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "steile" and "sterbe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "steile" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sterbe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,848,069 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "steile" and "sterbe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steile 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 #1,848,069 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.