starrvsSturzWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: starr is a adjective, Sturz is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“starr” is an adjective and “Sturz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,222
“starr” frequency rank
#6,978
“Sturz” frequency rank
22200
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature starr Sturz
Definition unbewegt (bei etwas, das sich normalerweise bewegt) heftiger Fall auf den Boden oder in die Tiefe

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set starr and Sturz apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
starr
5 ch
Sturz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: starr is [ʃtaʁ] while Sturz is [ʃtʊʁt͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22200, 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]. Sturz is at rank #6,978, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtʊʁt͡s].

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 22200, this pair ranks #1,877,069 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of starr vs Sturz

Shared letters: rst. Private to "starr": a. Private to "Sturz": uz.

"starr" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Sturz" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • starrsatrr · sstarr · strar · sttarr · tsarr
  • Sturzssturz · struz · stturz · sturrz · sturzz · stuzr · sutrz · tsurz

Frequency comparison

starr#15,222
Sturz#6,978

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "starr" and "Sturz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "starr" is an adjective and "Sturz" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "starr" or "Sturz"?
"Sturz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,978 in our German list, against #15,222 for "starr". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering starr vs Sturz

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “starr”; for a noun, it's “Sturz”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “starr” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list