starbvsstarrtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,861
“starb” frequency rank
#24,135
“starrt” frequency rank
25996
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature starb starrt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sterben 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs starren

Where the eye mixes starb and starrt

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

5 ch
starb
6 ch
starrt

Visual trap between starb and starrt

A purely visual mix-up. starb ([ʃtaʁp]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

starb is recorded at frequency rank #1,861, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃtaʁp]. 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 25996, this pair ranks #1,824,813 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of starb vs starrt

Shared letters: arst. Private to "starb": b. Private to "starrt": -.

"starb" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "starrt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • starbsatrb · sstarb · stabr · starbb · starrb · strab · sttarb · tsarb
  • starrtsatrrt · sstarrt · starrtt · startr · strart · sttarrt · tsarrt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "starb" for "starrt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtaʁp] versus [ʃtaʁt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "starb" or "starrt"?
"starb" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,861 in our German list, against #24,135 for "starrt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "starb" 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 #1,824,813 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "starb" 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 #1,824,813 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