Which to use
“Stiege” and “sting” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,252
- “Stiege” frequency rank
- #39,049
- “sting” frequency rank
- 83301
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Stiege | sting |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | steile, oft schmale Holztreppe | die manchen Tieren und Pflanzen eigene spitze Waffe (mit Gift) |
Where the eye mixes Stiege and sting
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Stiege vs sting
A purely visual mix-up. Stiege ([ˈʃtiːɡə]) and sting ([stɪŋ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83301, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Stiege is recorded at frequency rank #44,252, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtiːɡə]. sting is at rank #39,049, tagged as anoun, pronounced [stɪŋ].
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 83301, this pair ranks #142,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Stiege vs sting
Shared letters: gist. Private to "Stiege": e. Private to "sting": n.
"Stiege" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "sting" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Stiege" and "sting" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Stiege" or "sting" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Stiege" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sting" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #142,240 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Stiege" and "sting" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Satin vs sting". 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 #142,240 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.