spürenvsstürzenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,400
“spüren” frequency rank
#6,362
“stürzen” frequency rank
9762
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spüren stürzen
Definition etwas körperlich, mit dem Tastsinn wahrnehmen eine hilflose, ungewollte Bewegung nach unten ausführen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spüren and stürzen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
spüren
7 ch
stürzen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. spüren ([ˈʃpyːʁən]) and stürzen ([ˈʃtʏʁt͡sn̩]) 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 9762, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spüren is recorded at frequency rank #3,400, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpyːʁən]. stürzen is at rank #6,362, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʏʁt͡sn̩].

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 9762, this pair ranks #1,978,417 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of spüren vs stürzen

Shared letters: enrsü. Private to "spüren": p. Private to "stürzen": tz.

"spüren" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "stürzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

spüren#3,400
stürzen#6,362

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spüren" and "stürzen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpyːʁən] versus [ˈʃtʏʁt͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "spüren" or "stürzen"?
"spüren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,400 in our German list, against #6,362 for "stürzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering spüren vs stürzen

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 “spüren” 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