Which to use
“Stelen” is a noun and “stellten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,297
- “Stelen” frequency rank
- #4,389
- “stellten” frequency rank
- 50686
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Stelen | stellten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Stele | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stellen |
Where the eye mixes Stelen and stellten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Stelen runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against stellten's 8 (CCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Stelen with stellten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Stelen is [ˈʃteːlən] while stellten is [ˈʃtɛltn̩]. 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 50686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Stelen is recorded at frequency rank #46,297, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃteːlən]. stellten is at rank #4,389, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛltn̩].
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 50686, this pair ranks #1,164,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Stelen vs stellten
Shared letters: elnst. Private to "Stelen": -. Private to "stellten": -.
"Stelen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "stellten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Stelen" for "stellten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Stelen" or "stellten"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Stelen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stellten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,164,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Stelen" and "stellten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stelen 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 #1,164,380 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.