stärktevsstörteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#48,523
“stärkte” frequency rank
#23,328
“störte” frequency rank
71851
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stärkte störte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stärken 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stören

Where the eye mixes stärkte and störte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. stärkte runs 7 letters (CCVCCCV) against störte's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
stärkte
6 ch
störte

Visual trap between stärkte and störte

A purely visual mix-up. stärkte ([ˈʃtɛʁktə]) and störte ([ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə]) 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 71851, 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]. störte is at rank #23,328, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə].

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 71851, this pair ranks #404,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of stärkte vs störte

Shared letters: erst. Private to "stärkte": kä. Private to "störte": ö.

"stärkte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV  ·  "störte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "stärkte" and "störte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɛʁktə] versus [ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "stärkte" or "störte" show up more?
"störte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,328 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

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 "störte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #404,971 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stärkte" and "störte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stärkster vs stärkte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #404,971 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