starrtvsstartetWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#24,135
“starrt” frequency rank
#2,616
“startet” frequency rank
26751
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature starrt startet
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs starren 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs starten

Where the eye mixes starrt and startet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
starrt
7 ch
startet

Visual trap between starrt and startet

A purely visual mix-up. starrt ([ʃtaʁt]) and startet ([ˈʃtaʁtət]) 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 26751, 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]. startet is at rank #2,616, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaʁtət].

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 26751, this pair ranks #1,813,003 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of starrt vs startet

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

"starrt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "startet" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • starrtsatrrt · sstarrt · starrtt · startr · strart · sttarrt · tsarrt
  • startetsatrtet · sstartet · starett · starrtet · startett · startte · starttet · statret

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "starrt" and "startet" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtaʁt] versus [ˈʃtaʁtət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "starrt" or "startet" show up more?
"startet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,616 in our German list, against #24,135 for "starrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "starrt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "startet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,813,003 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "starrt" and "startet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stärkte vs starrt". 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 #1,813,003 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