gestorbenvsgestörteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,420
“gestorben” frequency rank
#28,220
“gestörte” frequency rank
29640
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gestorben gestörte
Definition nicht mehr lebend, verstorben Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gestört

Where the eye mixes gestorben and gestörte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gestorben runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against gestörte's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
gestorben
8 ch
gestörte

Why the eye confuses gestorben with gestörte

A purely visual mix-up. gestorben ([ɡəˈʃtɔʁbn̩]) and gestörte ([ɡəˈʃtøːɐ̯tə]) 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 29640, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gestorben is recorded at frequency rank #1,420, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʃtɔʁbn̩]. gestörte is at rank #28,220, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʃtøːɐ̯tə].

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 29640, this pair ranks #1,763,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gestorben vs gestörte

Shared letters: egrst. Private to "gestorben": bno. Private to "gestörte": ö.

"gestorben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "gestörte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gestorben ← egstorben · gesotrben · gesstorben · gestobren · gestorbben · gestorbenn · gestorbne · gestorebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gestorben" for "gestörte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈʃtɔʁbn̩] versus [ɡəˈʃtøːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gestorben" vs "gestörte" - which ranks higher?
"gestorben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,420 in our German list, against #28,220 for "gestörte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gestorben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gestörte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,763,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gestorben" and "gestörte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gestalte vs gestörte". 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 #1,763,081 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