stärkstervsstärkteConfusable pair

Quick tell: stärkster is a adjective, stärkte is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 eye mixes stärkster and stärkte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. stärkster runs 9 letters (CCVCCCCVC) against stärkte's 7 (CCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
stärkster
7 ch
stärkte

Visual trap between stärkster and stärkte

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

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.
In ordinary German text, does "stärkster" or "stärkte" show up more?
"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.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "stärkster" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stärkte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #5,004 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stärkster" and "stärkte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stärkte vs staunte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #5,004 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