steam
[stiːm]
The verdict
“steam” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #9,809 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #9,809
- frequency rank, German
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Dunst, der von einer Flüssigkeit aufsteigt; Dampf
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | steam |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [stiːm] |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #9,809 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “steam” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for steam is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [stiːm]. Corpus data places it at rank #9,809 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for steam, with forms such as "setam", "ssteam", and "staem". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "steh", "Steg", "step", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is steam, spelled S-T-E-A-M.
Definition
- 1Dunst, der von einer Flüssigkeit aufsteigt; Dampf
- 2Wasserdampf
- 3Druck, der durch aufgestauten Dampf aufgebaut wird; Dampfdruck
- 4ein Fahrzeug (Zug oder Schiff), das durch Dampf betrieben wird; Dampfer
- 5Fahrt oder Reise auf einem von Dampf betriebenen Fahrzeug
- 6Kraft, Energie
- 7Spannung
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: setam,ssteam,staem,steamm,stema,stteam,tseam
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of steam - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "steam"?
What does "steam" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "steam"?
How do you pronounce "steam"?
What language does "steam" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “steam”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is S-T-E-A-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [stiːm] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “steh” - see the side-by-side comparison. steam vs steh
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.