steilenvssteilerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,947
“steilen” frequency rank
#34,383
“steiler” frequency rank
48330
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature steilen steiler
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs steil Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs steil

Where the eye mixes steilen and steiler

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
steilen
7 ch
steiler

Look-alike desk: steilen vs steiler

A purely visual mix-up. steilen ([ˈʃtaɪ̯lən]) 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 a single letter - n in “steilen” becomes r in “steiler”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48330, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

steilen is recorded at frequency rank #13,947, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯lən]. 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 48330, this pair ranks #1,252,511 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of steilen vs steiler

Shared letters: eilst. Private to "steilen": n. Private to "steiler": r.

"steilen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "steiler" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • steilensetilen · ssteilen · steieln · steilenn · steillen · steilne · stelien · stielen
  • steilersetiler · ssteiler · steielr · steilerr · steiller · steilre · stelier · stieler

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "steilen" and "steiler" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtaɪ̯lən] versus [ˈʃtaɪ̯lɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "steilen" or "steiler"?
"steilen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,947 in our German list, against #34,383 for "steiler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "steilen" 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 #1,252,511 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "steilen" 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 #1,252,511 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