stärkster vs stärkte, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“stärkster” is an adjective and “stärkte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,522
“stärkster” frequency rank: #48,523
“stärkte” frequency rank: 97045
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	stärkster	stärkte
Definition	Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs stark	1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stärken

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set stärkster and stärkte apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

stärkster

7 ch

stärkte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: stärkster is [ˈʃtɛʁkstɐ] while stärkte is [ˈʃtɛʁktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 97045, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stärkster is recorded at frequency rank #48,522, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁkstɐ]. 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 97045, this pair ranks #5,004 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of stärkster vs stärkte

Shared letters: ekrstä. Private to "stärkster": -. Private to "stärkte": -.

"stärkster" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCCVC · "stärkte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV

Frequency comparison

stärkster#48,522

stärkte#48,523

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "stärkster" and "stärkte" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "stärkster" is an adjective and "stärkte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "stärkster" or "stärkte"?

"stärkster" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #48,522 in our German list, against #48,523 for "stärkte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering stärkster vs stärkte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “stärkster”; for a verb, it's “stärkte”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “stärkster” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable