SteinsvsstingTell them apart

Which to use

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

#31,806
“Steins” frequency rank
#39,049
“sting” frequency rank
70855
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Steins sting
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Stein die manchen Tieren und Pflanzen eigene spitze Waffe (mit Gift)

Where the eye mixes Steins and sting

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Steins
5 ch
sting

Visual trap between Steins and sting

A purely visual mix-up. Steins ([ʃtaɪ̯ns]) and sting ([stɪŋ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70855, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Steins is recorded at frequency rank #31,806, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtaɪ̯ns]. sting is at rank #39,049, tagged as anoun, pronounced [stɪŋ].

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 70855, this pair ranks #433,879 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Steins vs sting

Shared letters: inst. Private to "Steins": e. Private to "sting": g.

"Steins" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC  ·  "sting" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Steinssetins · ssteins · steinns · steinss · steisn · stenis · stiens · stteins
  • stingsitng · ssting · stign · stingg · stinng · stnig · stting · tsing

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Steins" for "sting" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtaɪ̯ns] versus [stɪŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Steins" vs "sting" - which ranks higher?
"Steins" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,806 in our German list, against #39,049 for "sting". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Steins" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sting" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #433,879 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Steins" and "sting" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Satin vs sting". 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 #433,879 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