Which to use
“stell” is a verb and “stets” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,077
- “stell” frequency rank
- #1,337
- “stets” frequency rank
- 4414
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stell | stets |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stellen | zu jeder Zeit, immer |
Where the eye mixes stell and stets
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between stell and stets
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stell is [ʃtɛl] while stets is [ʃteːt͡s]. 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 (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4414, 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]. stets is at rank #1,337, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ʃteːt͡s].
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 4414, this pair ranks #1,997,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stell vs stets
Shared letters: est. Private to "stell": l. Private to "stets": -.
"stell" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "stets" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stell" for "stets" ever safe?
Which is more common, "stell" or "stets"?
After this comparison
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 "stets" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,997,783 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stell" and "stets" 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 #1,997,783 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.