Which to use
“stell” and “stellte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,077
- “stell” frequency rank
- #1,169
- “stellte” frequency rank
- 4246
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stell | stellte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stellen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stellen |
Where the eye mixes stell and stellte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. stell runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against stellte's 7 (CCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: stell vs stellte
A purely visual mix-up. stell ([ʃtɛl]) and stellte ([ˈʃtɛltə]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “stell” sits inside “stellte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4246, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stell is recorded at frequency rank #3,077, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃtɛl]. stellte is at rank #1,169, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛltə].
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 4246, this pair ranks #1,998,194 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stell vs stellte
Shared letters: elst. Private to "stell": -. Private to "stellte": -.
"stell" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "stellte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stell" for "stellte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "stell" vs "stellte" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "stell" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stellte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,998,194 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stell" and "stellte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stell vs steps". 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 #1,998,194 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.