StärkevsstärkerConfusable pair

Quick tell: Stärke is a noun, stärker is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Stärke” is a noun and “stärker” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,998
“Stärke” frequency rank
#1,678
“stärker” frequency rank
4676
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stärke stärker
Definition Kraft, Macht, Potenz, Vermögen, insbesondere Prädikative und adverbielle Form des Komparativs des Adjektivs stark

Where the eye mixes Stärke and stärker

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Stärke
7 ch
stärker

Visual trap between Stärke and stärker

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Stärke is [ˈʃtɛʁkə] while stärker is [ˈʃtɛʁkɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Stärke” sits inside “stärker”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Stärke is recorded at frequency rank #2,998, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁkə]. stärker is at rank #1,678, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁkɐ].

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 4676, this pair ranks #1,997,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stärke vs stärker

Shared letters: ekrstä. Private to "Stärke": -. Private to "stärker": -.

"Stärke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "stärker" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stärke" and "stärker" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Stärke" is a noun and "stärker" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Stärke" or "stärker" show up more?
"stärker" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,678 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.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stärke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stärker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,997,035 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stärke" and "stärker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stärke vs stärkte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,997,035 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