stepvsSteyrWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: step is a noun, Steyr is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“step” is a noun and “Steyr” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,712
“step” frequency rank
#16,006
“Steyr” frequency rank
34718
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature step Steyr
Definition die Stufe Stadt in Oberösterreich, Namensgeberin für die Steiermark

Where the eye mixes step and Steyr

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
step
5 ch
Steyr

Look-alike desk: step vs Steyr

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: step is [stɛp] while Steyr is [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34718, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

step is recorded at frequency rank #18,712, classified as anoun, pronounced [stɛp]. Steyr is at rank #16,006, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈʃtaɪ̯ɐ].

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 34718, this pair ranks #1,656,918 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of step vs Steyr

Shared letters: est. Private to "step": p. Private to "Steyr": ry.

"step" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "Steyr" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stepsetp · sstep · stepp · stpe · sttep · tsep
  • Steyrsetyr · ssteyr · stery · steyrr · steyyr · stteyr · styer · tseyr

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "step" for "Steyr" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "step" is a noun and "Steyr" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "step" vs "Steyr" - which ranks higher?
"Steyr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,006 in our German list, against #18,712 for "step". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "step" and "Steyr" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "step" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Steyr" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,656,918 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "step" and "Steyr" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs step". 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 #1,656,918 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list