stärkenvsstartetTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,487
“stärken” frequency rank
#2,616
“startet” frequency rank
6103
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stärken startet
Definition stark, belastbar machen; kräftiger, leistungsfähiger machen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs starten

Where the eye mixes stärken and startet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

7 ch
stärken
7 ch
startet

Look-alike desk: stärken vs startet

A purely visual mix-up. stärken ([ˈʃtɛʁkn̩]) and startet ([ˈʃtaʁtət]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6103, 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]. startet is at rank #2,616, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaʁtət].

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 6103, this pair ranks #1,992,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of stärken vs startet

Shared letters: erst. Private to "stärken": knä. Private to "startet": a.

"stärken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "startet" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • startetsatrtet · sstartet · starett · starrtet · startett · startte · starttet · statret

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "stärken" for "startet" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɛʁkn̩] versus [ˈʃtaʁtət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "stärken" vs "startet" - which ranks higher?
"startet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,616 in our German list, against #3,487 for "stärken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "stärken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "startet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,992,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stärken" and "startet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stärken vs stärkte". 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 #1,992,714 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