Which to use
“stärken” is a verb and “stärkere” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,487
- “stärken” frequency rank
- #8,288
- “stärkere” frequency rank
- 11775
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stärken | stärkere |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | stark, belastbar machen; kräftiger, leistungsfähiger machen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs stark |
Where the eye mixes stärken and stärkere
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: stärken vs stärkere
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stärken is [ˈʃtɛʁkn̩] while stärkere is [ˈʃtɛʁkəʁə]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11775, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stärken is recorded at frequency rank #3,487, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁkn̩]. stärkere is at rank #8,288, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁkəʁə].
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 11775, this pair ranks #1,967,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stärken vs stärkere
Shared letters: ekrstä. Private to "stärken": n. Private to "stärkere": -.
"stärken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "stärkere" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stärken" for "stärkere" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "stärken" or "stärkere" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "stärken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stärkere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,967,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stärken" and "stärkere" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stärkere vs stärkte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,967,974 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.