Which to use
“starben” and “stärken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,883
- “starben” frequency rank
- #3,487
- “stärken” frequency rank
- 9370
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | starben | stärken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sterben | stark, belastbar machen; kräftiger, leistungsfähiger machen |
Where the eye mixes starben and stärken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. starben and stärken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between starben and stärken
A purely visual mix-up. starben ([ˈʃtaʁbn̩]) and stärken ([ˈʃtɛʁkn̩]) 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 9370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
starben is recorded at frequency rank #5,883, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaʁbn̩]. stärken is at rank #3,487, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁkn̩].
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 9370, this pair ranks #1,980,278 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of starben vs stärken
Shared letters: enrst. Private to "starben": ab. Private to "stärken": kä.
"starben" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "stärken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- starben ← satrben · sstarben · stabren · starbben · starbenn · starbne · starebn · starrben
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "starben" and "stärken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "starben" or "stärken"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "starben" and "stärken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "starben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stärken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,980,278 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "starben" and "stärken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "starben vs Stuben". 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 #1,980,278 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.