StelevsstolzWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Stele is a noun, stolz is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Stele” is a noun and “stolz” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,226
“Stele” frequency rank
#1,141
“stolz” frequency rank
41367
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stele stolz
Definition Grabstein, Gedenkstein der Antike, Pfeiler mit einer Inschrift- oder Bildtafel; heute auch moderne freistehende Informationstafel seiner Fähigkeiten und Leistungen bewusst und erfreut darüber, im Selbstgefühl gestärkt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Stele and stolz apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Stele
5 ch
stolz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Stele is [ˈʃteːlə] while stolz is [ʃtɔlt͡s]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41367, 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]. stolz is at rank #1,141, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃtɔlt͡s].

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 41367, this pair ranks #1,481,560 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Stele vs stolz

Shared letters: lst. Private to "Stele": e. Private to "stolz": oz.

"Stele" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "stolz" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stelesetle · sstele · stlee · sttele · tsele
  • stolzsotlz · sstolz · stloz · stollz · stolzz · stozl · sttolz · tsolz

Frequency comparison

Stele#40,226
stolz#1,141

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stele" and "stolz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Stele" is a noun and "stolz" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Stele" or "stolz"?
"stolz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,141 in our German list, against #40,226 for "Stele". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Stele vs stolz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Stele”; for an adjective, it's “stolz”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Stele” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list