Which to use
“Stele” is a noun and “stellen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,226
- “Stele” frequency rank
- #370
- “stellen” frequency rank
- 40596
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Stele | stellen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grabstein, Gedenkstein der Antike, Pfeiler mit einer Inschrift- oder Bildtafel; heute auch moderne freistehende Informationstafel | senkrecht, mit den Füßen den Boden, einen bestimmten Platz oder Gegenstand berührend, in eine bestimmte oder übliche Position bringen |
Where the eye mixes Stele and stellen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Stele and stellen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Stele is [ˈʃteːlə] while stellen is [ˈʃtɛlən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Stele is recorded at frequency rank #40,226, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃteːlə]. stellen is at rank #370, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛlən].
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 40596, this pair ranks #1,503,939 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Stele vs stellen
Shared letters: elst. Private to "Stele": -. Private to "stellen": n.
"Stele" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "stellen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Stele" for "stellen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Stele" or "stellen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Stele" and "stellen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Stele" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,503,939 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Stele" and "stellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stele 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 #1,503,939 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.