starrevsstarrenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,710
“starre” frequency rank
#11,759
“starren” frequency rank
30469
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature starre starren
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs starren bewegungslos auf jemanden oder etwas schauen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set starre and starren apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
starre
7 ch
starren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. starre ([ˈʃtaʁə]) and starren ([ˈʃtaʁən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “starre” sits inside “starren”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30469, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

starre is recorded at frequency rank #18,710, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaʁə]. starren is at rank #11,759, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaʁən].

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 30469, this pair ranks #1,747,239 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of starre vs starren

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "starre": -. Private to "starren": n.

"starre" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "starren" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • starresatrre · sstarre · stare · starer · strare · sttarre · tsarre
  • starrensatrren · sstarren · staren · starern · starrenn · starrne · straren · sttarren

Frequency comparison

starre#18,710
starren#11,759

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "starre" and "starren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtaʁə] versus [ˈʃtaʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "starre" or "starren"?
"starren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,759 in our German list, against #18,710 for "starre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering starre vs starren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “starre” 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