Which to use
“Steine” and “Sterne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,850
- “Steine” frequency rank
- #2,992
- “Sterne” frequency rank
- 6842
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Steine | Sterne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Stein | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Stern |
Where the eye mixes Steine and Sterne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Steine (CCVVCV) and Sterne (CCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: Steine vs Sterne
A purely visual mix-up. Steine ([ˈʃtaɪ̯nə]) and Sterne ([ˈʃtɛʁnə]) 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 - i in “Steine” becomes r in “Sterne”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6842, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Steine is recorded at frequency rank #3,850, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯nə]. Sterne is at rank #2,992, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁnə].
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 6842, this pair ranks #1,990,280 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Steine vs Sterne
Shared letters: enst. Private to "Steine": i. Private to "Sterne": r.
"Steine" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "Sterne" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Steine" and "Sterne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Steine" or "Sterne" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Steine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Sterne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,990,280 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Steine" and "Sterne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Steine vs Steiners". 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 #1,990,280 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.