Which to use
“ste” is a verb and “sto” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,412
- “ste” frequency rank
- #31,269
- “sto” frequency rank
- 41681
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ste | sto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de stare. | Contraction de la préposition et de l'article défini, « dans le ». |
Where the eye mixes ste and sto
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ste with sto
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ste is \ˈstɛ\ while sto is \sɛ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “ste” becomes o in “sto”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ste is recorded at frequency rank #10,412, classified as averb, pronounced \ˈstɛ\. sto is at rank #31,269, tagged as aprep, pronounced \sɛ\.
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 41681, this pair ranks #231,265 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ste vs sto
Shared letters: st. Private to "ste": e. Private to "sto": o.
"ste" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "sto" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ste" and "sto" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ste" or "sto"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #231,265 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ste" and "sto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sto vs suu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #231,265 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.