Which to use
“Stärke” is a noun and “stärkte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,998
- “Stärke” frequency rank
- #48,523
- “stärkte” frequency rank
- 51521
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Stärke | stärkte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Kraft, Macht, Potenz, Vermögen, insbesondere | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stärken |
Where the eye mixes Stärke and stärkte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Stärke runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against stärkte's 7 (CCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Stärke vs stärkte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Stärke is [ˈʃtɛʁkə] while stärkte is [ˈʃtɛʁktə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51521, 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]. stärkte is at rank #48,523, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁktə].
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 51521, this pair ranks #1,132,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Stärke vs stärkte
Shared letters: ekrstä. Private to "Stärke": -. Private to "stärkte": -.
"Stärke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "stärkte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Stärke" for "stärkte" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Stärke" vs "stärkte" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Stärke" and "stärkte" 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 "stärkte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,132,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Stärke" and "stärkte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stärkster vs stärkte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,132,302 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.