stärktvsstarrteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,979
“stärkt” frequency rank
#27,067
“starrte” frequency rank
39046
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stärkt starrte
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stärken 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs starren

Where the eye mixes stärkt and starrte

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

6 ch
stärkt
7 ch
starrte

Visual trap between stärkt and starrte

A purely visual mix-up. stärkt ([ʃtɛʁkt]) and starrte ([ˈʃtaʁtə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39046, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stärkt is recorded at frequency rank #11,979, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃtɛʁkt]. starrte is at rank #27,067, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaʁtə].

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 39046, this pair ranks #1,547,561 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of stärkt vs starrte

Shared letters: rst. Private to "stärkt": . Private to "starrte": ae.

"stärkt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "starrte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • starrtesatrrte · sstarrte · starret · starrtte · strarte · sttarrte · tsarrte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "stärkt" and "starrte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtɛʁkt] versus [ˈʃtaʁtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "stärkt" or "starrte" show up more?
"stärkt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,979 in our German list, against #27,067 for "starrte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "stärkt" and "starrte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "stärkt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "starrte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,547,561 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stärkt" and "starrte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stärkte vs starrte". 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 #1,547,561 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