StaatevsStaatsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#36,640
“Staate” frequency rank
#6,356
“Staats” frequency rank
42996
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Staate Staats
Definition Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Staat Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Staat

Where the eye mixes Staate and Staats

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Staate
6 ch
Staats

Look-alike desk: Staate vs Staats

A purely visual mix-up. Staate ([ˈʃtaːtə]) and Staats ([ʃtaːt͡s]) 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 a single letter - e in “Staate” becomes s in “Staats”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Staate is recorded at frequency rank #36,640, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtaːtə]. Staats is at rank #6,356, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtaːt͡s].

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 42996, this pair ranks #1,431,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Staate vs Staats

Shared letters: ast. Private to "Staate": e. Private to "Staats": -.

"Staate" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV  ·  "Staats" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Staatesatate · sstaate · staaet · staatte · statae · sttaate · tsaate
  • Staatssatats · sstaats · staast · staatss · staatts · statas · stats · sttaats

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Staate" for "Staats" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtaːtə] versus [ʃtaːt͡s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Staate" or "Staats"?
"Staats" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,356 in our German list, against #36,640 for "Staate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Staate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Staats" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,431,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Staate" and "Staats" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Staate vs stärkte". 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 #1,431,849 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