spartvsstarrWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: spart is a verb, starr is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“spart” is a verb and “starr” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,669
“spart” frequency rank
#15,222
“starr” frequency rank
22891
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spart starr
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sparen unbewegt (bei etwas, das sich normalerweise bewegt)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spart and starr apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
spart
5 ch
starr

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spart is [ʃpaːɐ̯t] while starr is [ʃtaʁ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22891, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spart is recorded at frequency rank #7,669, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃpaːɐ̯t]. starr is at rank #15,222, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃtaʁ].

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 22891, this pair ranks #1,868,384 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of spart vs starr

Shared letters: arst. Private to "spart": p. Private to "starr": -.

"spart" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "starr" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • spartpsart · saprt · sparrt · spartt · spatr · sppart · sprat · sspart
  • starrsatrr · sstarr · strar · sttarr · tsarr

Frequency comparison

spart#7,669
starr#15,222

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spart" and "starr" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spart" is a verb and "starr" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "spart" or "starr"?
"spart" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,669 in our German list, against #15,222 for "starr". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering spart vs starr

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “spart”; for an adjective, it's “starr”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “spart” 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