starrtvsstarrteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#24,135
“starrt” frequency rank
#27,067
“starrte” frequency rank
51202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes starrt and starrte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
starrt
7 ch
starrte

Why the eye confuses starrt with starrte

A purely visual mix-up. starrt ([ʃtaʁt]) and starrte ([ˈʃtaʁtə]) 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) - “starrt” sits inside “starrte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

starrt is recorded at frequency rank #24,135, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃtaʁt]. 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 51202, this pair ranks #1,144,546 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of starrt vs starrte

Shared letters: arst. Private to "starrt": -. Private to "starrte": e.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • starrtsatrrt · sstarrt · starrtt · startr · strart · sttarrt · tsarrt
  • starrtesatrrte · sstarrte · starret · starrtte · strarte · sttarrte · tsarrte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "starrt" and "starrte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtaʁt] versus [ˈʃtaʁtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "starrt" or "starrte"?
"starrt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,135 in our German list, against #27,067 for "starrte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "starrt" and "starrte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "starrt" 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 #1,144,546 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "starrt" 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 #1,144,546 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