Which to use
“stärken” and “stinken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,487
- “stärken” frequency rank
- #22,520
- “stinken” frequency rank
- 26007
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stärken | stinken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | stark, belastbar machen; kräftiger, leistungsfähiger machen | (sehr) übel schlecht riechen, üblen Geruch verbreiten |
Where the eye mixes stärken and stinken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. stärken and stinken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: stärken vs stinken
A purely visual mix-up. stärken ([ˈʃtɛʁkn̩]) and stinken ([ˈʃtɪŋkn̩]) 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 26007, 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]. stinken is at rank #22,520, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɪŋkn̩].
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 26007, this pair ranks #1,824,652 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stärken vs stinken
Shared letters: eknst. Private to "stärken": rä. Private to "stinken": i.
"stärken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "stinken" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- stinken ← sitnken · sstinken · stiknen · stinekn · stinkenn · stinkken · stinkne · stinnken
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "stärken" and "stinken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "stärken" vs "stinken" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "stinken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,824,652 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stärken" and "stinken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stilen vs stinken". 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 #1,824,652 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.