Which to use
“stark” is an adjective and “Stau” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #454
- “stark” frequency rank
- #7,819
- “Stau” frequency rank
- 8273
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stark | Stau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Kraft ausgestattet, von Kraft geprägt, zeugend | durch eine Behinderung oder ein Hindernis verursachte Störung des Durchflusses oder Durchgangs; Nomen acti: Ergebnis des Stauens |
Where the eye mixes stark and Stau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses stark with Stau
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stark is [ʃtaʁk] while Stau is [ʃtaʊ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stark is recorded at frequency rank #454, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃtaʁk]. Stau is at rank #7,819, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtaʊ̯].
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 8273, this pair ranks #1,984,943 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stark vs Stau
Shared letters: ast. Private to "stark": kr. Private to "Stau": u.
"stark" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "Stau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stark" for "Stau" ever safe?
Which is more common, "stark" or "Stau"?
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 "stark" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Stau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,984,943 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stark" and "Stau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sai vs Stau". 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 #1,984,943 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.