startenvsstörteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,990
“starten” frequency rank
#23,328
“störte” frequency rank
25318
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature starten störte
Definition einen Vorgang beginnen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stören

Where the eye mixes starten and störte

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

7 ch
starten
6 ch
störte

Visual trap between starten and störte

A purely visual mix-up. starten ([ˈʃtaʁtn̩]) and störte ([ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə]) 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 25318, 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]. störte is at rank #23,328, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə].

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 25318, this pair ranks #1,835,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of starten vs störte

Shared letters: erst. Private to "starten": an. Private to "störte": ö.

"starten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "störte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • startensatrten · sstarten · staretn · starrten · startenn · startne · startten · statren

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "starten" and "störte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtaʁtn̩] versus [ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "starten" vs "störte" - which ranks higher?
"starten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,990 in our German list, against #23,328 for "störte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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 "störte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,835,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "starten" and "störte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "storia vs störte". 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 #1,835,073 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