stärktevsstarrtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#48,523
“stärkte” frequency rank
#24,135
“starrt” frequency rank
72658
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes stärkte and starrt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. stärkte runs 7 letters (CCVCCCV) against starrt's 6 (CCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
stärkte
6 ch
starrt

Visual trap between stärkte and starrt

A purely visual mix-up. stärkte ([ˈʃtɛʁktə]) and starrt ([ʃtaʁt]) 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 72658, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stärkte is recorded at frequency rank #48,523, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁktə]. starrt is at rank #24,135, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtaʁt].

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 72658, this pair ranks #382,127 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of stärkte vs starrt

Shared letters: rst. Private to "stärkte": ekä. Private to "starrt": a.

"stärkte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV  ·  "starrt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • starrt ← satrrt · sstarrt · starrtt · startr · strart · sttarrt · tsarrt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "stärkte" for "starrt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɛʁktə] versus [ʃtaʁt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "stärkte" or "starrt" show up more?
"starrt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,135 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.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "stärkte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "starrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #382,127 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stärkte" and "starrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stärkster 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 #382,127 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