Which to use
“starten” and “sterben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,990
- “starten” frequency rank
- #1,336
- “sterben” frequency rank
- 3326
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | starten | sterben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Vorgang beginnen | aufhören zu leben |
Where the eye mixes starten and sterben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between starten and sterben
A purely visual mix-up. starten ([ˈʃtaʁtn̩]) and sterben ([ˈʃtɛʁbn̩]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3326, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
starten is recorded at frequency rank #1,990, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaʁtn̩]. sterben is at rank #1,336, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁbn̩].
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 3326, this pair ranks #2,000,449 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of starten vs sterben
Shared letters: enrst. Private to "starten": a. Private to "sterben": b.
"starten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "sterben" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "starten" and "sterben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "starten" or "sterben" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "starten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sterben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,000,449 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "starten" and "sterben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stärkte vs starten". 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 #2,000,449 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.