StädtevsStärkeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,748
“Städte” frequency rank
#2,998
“Stärke” frequency rank
4746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Städte Stärke
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Stadt Kraft, Macht, Potenz, Vermögen, insbesondere

Where the eye mixes Städte and Stärke

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

6 ch
Städte
6 ch
Stärke

Visual trap between Städte and Stärke

A purely visual mix-up. Städte ([ˈʃtɛːtə]) and Stärke ([ˈʃtɛʁkə]) 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 4746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Städte is recorded at frequency rank #1,748, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɛːtə]. Stärke is at rank #2,998, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁkə].

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 4746, this pair ranks #1,996,791 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Städte vs Stärke

Shared letters: estä. Private to "Städte": d. Private to "Stärke": kr.

"Städte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Stärke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Städte" and "Stärke" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɛːtə] versus [ˈʃtɛʁkə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Städte" or "Stärke" show up more?
"Städte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,748 in our German list, against #2,998 for "Stärke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Städte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stärke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,996,791 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Städte" and "Stärke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stärke vs stärkte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,996,791 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