Which to use
“step” and “STS” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,826
- “step” frequency rank
- #40,514
- “STS” frequency rank
- 58340
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | step | STS |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Accessoire de mise en forme, de fitness, ressemblant à une marche sur laquelle on monte et on descend. | Navette spatiale américaine ayant effectué 135 vols pour l'agence spatiale américaine (NASA) entre le 12 avril 1981 et juillet 2011. |
Where the eye mixes step and STS
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses step with STS
A purely visual mix-up. step (\stɛp\) and STS (\ɛs te ɛs\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
step is recorded at frequency rank #17,826, classified as anoun, pronounced \stɛp\. STS is at rank #40,514, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛs te ɛs\.
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 58340, this pair ranks #109,643 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of step vs STS
Shared letters: st. Private to "step": ep. Private to "STS": -.
"step" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "STS" · 3 letters · shape CCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- step ← sstep · stepp · stpe · sttep · tsep
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "step" for "STS" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "step" or "STS" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "step" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "STS" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #109,643 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "step" and "STS" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "STS vs suu". 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 #109,643 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.