sperrtvsstarrtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#16,002
“sperrt” frequency rank
#24,135
“starrt” frequency rank
40137
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sperrt starrt
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sperren 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs starren

Where the eye mixes sperrt and starrt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
sperrt
6 ch
starrt

Visual trap between sperrt and starrt

A purely visual mix-up. sperrt ([ʃpɛʁt]) and starrt ([ʃtaʁt]) 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 40137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sperrt is recorded at frequency rank #16,002, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃpɛʁt]. starrt is at rank #24,135, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtaʁt].

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 40137, this pair ranks #1,517,059 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sperrt vs starrt

Shared letters: rst. Private to "sperrt": ep. Private to "starrt": a.

"sperrt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "starrt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sperrtpserrt · seprrt · sperrtt · spert · spertr · spperrt · sprert · ssperrt
  • starrtsatrrt · sstarrt · starrtt · startr · strart · sttarrt · tsarrt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sperrt" and "starrt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃpɛʁt] versus [ʃtaʁt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sperrt" vs "starrt" - which ranks higher?
"sperrt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,002 in our German list, against #24,135 for "starrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sperrt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "starrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,517,059 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sperrt" and "starrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stärkte vs starrt". 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 #1,517,059 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