erstarrenvserstarrtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“erstarren” and “erstarrt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,633
“erstarren” frequency rank
#37,502
“erstarrt” frequency rank
87135
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erstarren erstarrt
Definition starr werden, die Beweglichkeit verlieren Partizip Perfekt des Verbs erstarren

Where the eye mixes erstarren and erstarrt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erstarren runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against erstarrt's 8 (VCCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
erstarren
8 ch
erstarrt

Look-alike desk: erstarren vs erstarrt

A purely visual mix-up. erstarren ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁən]) and erstarrt ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁt]) 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 87135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erstarren is recorded at frequency rank #49,633, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁən]. erstarrt is at rank #37,502, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁt].

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 87135, this pair ranks #84,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of erstarren vs erstarrt

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "erstarren": n. Private to "erstarrt": -.

"erstarren" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "erstarrt" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erstarren ← errstarren · ersatrren · ersstarren · erstaren · erstarern · erstarrenn · erstarrne · erstraren
  • erstarrt ← errstarrt · ersatrrt · ersstarrt · erstarrtt · erstart · erstartr · erstrart · ersttarrt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erstarren" and "erstarrt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁən] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erstarren" vs "erstarrt" - which ranks higher?
"erstarrt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,502 in our German list, against #49,633 for "erstarren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "erstarren" and "erstarrt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erstarren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erstarrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #84,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erstarren" and "erstarrt" 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 #84,333 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list