Which to use
“starr” is an adjective and “starrte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,222
- “starr” frequency rank
- #27,067
- “starrte” frequency rank
- 42289
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | starr | starrte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unbewegt (bei etwas, das sich normalerweise bewegt) | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs starren |
Where the eye mixes starr and starrte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses starr with starrte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: starr is [ʃtaʁ] while starrte is [ˈʃtaʁtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “starr” sits inside “starrte”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
starr is recorded at frequency rank #15,222, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃtaʁ]. 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 42289, this pair ranks #1,454,009 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of starr vs starrte
Shared letters: arst. Private to "starr": -. Private to "starrte": e.
"starr" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "starrte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "starr" and "starrte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "starr" or "starrte" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "starr" and "starrte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "starr" 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 #1,454,009 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "starr" 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 #1,454,009 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.