Which to use
“erstarken” and “erstatten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,326
- “erstarken” frequency rank
- #12,276
- “erstatten” frequency rank
- 51602
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstarken | erstatten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an Kraft, Umfang, Bedeutung zunehmen (stärker werden) | jemandem Geld zurückgeben, das er für etwas ausgegeben hat |
Where the eye mixes erstarken and erstatten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erstarken and erstatten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: erstarken vs erstatten
A purely visual mix-up. erstarken ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁkn̩]) and erstatten ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtatn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erstarken is recorded at frequency rank #39,326, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁkn̩]. erstatten is at rank #12,276, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtatn̩].
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 51602, this pair ranks #1,129,200 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erstarken vs erstatten
Shared letters: aenrst. Private to "erstarken": k. Private to "erstatten": -.
"erstarken" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "erstatten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erstarken" and "erstatten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "erstarken" or "erstatten" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "erstarken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erstatten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,129,200 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstarken" and "erstatten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erstarken vs erstarren". 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 #1,129,200 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.