Which to use
“stiegen” and “stinken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,133
- “stiegen” frequency rank
- #22,520
- “stinken” frequency rank
- 30653
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stiegen | stinken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs steigen | (sehr) übel schlecht riechen, üblen Geruch verbreiten |
Where the eye mixes stiegen and stinken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. stiegen (CCVVCVC) and stinken (CCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: stiegen vs stinken
A purely visual mix-up. stiegen ([ˈʃtiːɡn̩]) and stinken ([ˈʃtɪŋkn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stiegen is recorded at frequency rank #8,133, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtiːɡn̩]. stinken is at rank #22,520, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɪŋkn̩].
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 30653, this pair ranks #1,743,681 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stiegen vs stinken
Shared letters: einst. Private to "stiegen": g. Private to "stinken": k.
"stiegen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "stinken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stiegen" for "stinken" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "stiegen" or "stinken" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "stiegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stinken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,743,681 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stiegen" and "stinken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stilen vs stinken". 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 #1,743,681 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.