smartevsstateWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,823
“smarte” frequency rank
#7,114
“state” frequency rank
40937
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature smarte state
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs smart auf den Staat bezogen: staatlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set smarte and state apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
smarte
5 ch
state

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. smarte ([ˈsmaːɐ̯tə]) and state ([steit]) 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 40937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

smarte is recorded at frequency rank #33,823, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈsmaːɐ̯tə]. state is at rank #7,114, tagged as anadj, pronounced [steit].

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 40937, this pair ranks #1,494,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of smarte vs state

Shared letters: aest. Private to "smarte": mr. Private to "state": -.

"smarte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "state" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • smartemsarte · samrte · smaret · smarrte · smartte · smatre · smmarte · smrate
  • statesstate · staet · statte · sttae · sttate · tsate

Frequency comparison

smarte#33,823
state#7,114

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "smarte" and "state" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsmaːɐ̯tə] versus [steit]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "smarte" or "state"?
"state" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,114 in our German list, against #33,823 for "smarte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering smarte vs state

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “smarte” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list