StärkevsstrikeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,998
“Stärke” frequency rank
#16,295
“strike” frequency rank
19293
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Stärke strike
Definition Kraft, Macht, Potenz, Vermögen, insbesondere Schlag, Angriff

Where the eye mixes Stärke and strike

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Stärke
6 ch
strike

Why the eye confuses Stärke with strike

A purely visual mix-up. Stärke ([ˈʃtɛʁkə]) and strike ([stɹaɪk]) 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 19293, 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]. strike is at rank #16,295, tagged as anoun, pronounced [stɹaɪk].

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 19293, this pair ranks #1,909,865 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Stärke vs strike

Shared letters: ekrst. Private to "Stärke": ä. Private to "strike": i.

"Stärke" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "strike" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • strikesrtike · sstrike · stirke · strikke · strkie · strrike · sttrike · tsrike

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Stärke" and "strike" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɛʁkə] versus [stɹaɪk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Stärke" vs "strike" - which ranks higher?
"Stärke" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,998 in our German list, against #16,295 for "strike". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Stärke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "strike" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,909,865 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Stärke" and "strike" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "strike vs strikes". 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 #1,909,865 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