# stereo vs stern

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### stereo
*noun · IPA /ˈstɛ.ɹi.əʊ/ · frequency rank #10,136*
A system of recording or reproducing sound that uses two or more channels, each playing a portion of the original sound at different locations in order to simulate the separation of sources along at least one spatial dimension.

### stern
*adjective · IPA /stɜːn/ · frequency rank #8,356*
Having a hardness and severity of nature or manner.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stereo-vs-stern