starrtevsstartetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,067
“starrte” frequency rank
#2,616
“startet” frequency rank
29683
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature starrte startet
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs starren 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs starten

Where the eye mixes starrte and startet

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

7 ch
starrte
7 ch
startet

Look-alike desk: starrte vs startet

A purely visual mix-up. starrte ([ˈʃtaʁtə]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29683, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

starrte is recorded at frequency rank #27,067, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaʁtə]. 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 29683, this pair ranks #1,762,225 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of starrte vs startet

Shared letters: aerst. Private to "starrte": -. Private to "startet": -.

"starrte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV  ·  "startet" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • starrtesatrrte · sstarrte · starret · starrtte · strarte · sttarrte · tsarrte
  • startetsatrtet · sstartet · starett · starrtet · startett · startte · starttet · statret

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "starrte" and "startet" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtaʁtə] versus [ˈʃtaʁtət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "starrte" vs "startet" - which ranks higher?
"startet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,616 in our German list, against #27,067 for "starrte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "starrte" 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 #1,762,225 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "starrte" and "startet" 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 #1,762,225 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