StilenvsstillesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Stilen is a noun, stilles is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Stilen” is a noun and “stilles” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,273
“Stilen” frequency rank
#30,790
“stilles” frequency rank
80063
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stilen stilles
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Stil Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs still

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Stilen and stilles apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Stilen
7 ch
stilles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Stilen is [ˈʃtiːlən] while stilles is [ˈʃtɪləs]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stilen is recorded at frequency rank #49,273, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtiːlən]. stilles is at rank #30,790, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtɪləs].

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 80063, this pair ranks #203,281 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Stilen vs stilles

Shared letters: eilst. Private to "Stilen": n. Private to "stilles": -.

"Stilen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "stilles" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Stilensitlen · sstilen · stieln · stilenn · stilne · stlien · sttilen · tsilen
  • stillessitlles · sstilles · stilels · stilless · stillse · stliles · sttilles · tsilles

Frequency comparison

Stilen#49,273
stilles#30,790

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stilen" and "stilles" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Stilen" is a noun and "stilles" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Stilen" or "stilles"?
"stilles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,790 in our German list, against #49,273 for "Stilen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Stilen vs stilles

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Stilen”; for an adjective, it's “stilles”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Stilen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list