Which to use
“erstarren” and “erstatten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,633
- “erstarren” frequency rank
- #12,276
- “erstatten” frequency rank
- 61909
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erstarren | erstatten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | starr werden, die Beweglichkeit verlieren | jemandem Geld zurückgeben, das er für etwas ausgegeben hat |
Where the eye mixes erstarren and erstatten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. erstarren 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: erstarren vs erstatten
A purely visual mix-up. erstarren ([ɛɐ̯ˈʃtaʁən]) 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 61909, 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]. 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 61909, this pair ranks #732,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erstarren vs erstatten
Shared letters: aenrst. Private to "erstarren": -. Private to "erstatten": -.
"erstarren" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "erstatten" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erstarren" and "erstatten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "erstarren" or "erstatten"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "erstarren" and "erstatten" 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 "erstatten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #732,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erstarren" 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 #732,222 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.