startetvsstiftetTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,616
“startet” frequency rank
#43,513
“stiftet” frequency rank
46129
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes startet and stiftet

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

7 ch
startet
7 ch
stiftet

Look-alike desk: startet vs stiftet

A purely visual mix-up. startet ([ˈʃtaʁtət]) and stiftet ([ˈʃtɪftət]) 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 46129, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

startet is recorded at frequency rank #2,616, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtaʁtət]. stiftet is at rank #43,513, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɪftət].

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 46129, this pair ranks #1,329,637 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of startet vs stiftet

Shared letters: est. Private to "startet": ar. Private to "stiftet": fi.

"startet" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "stiftet" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • startetsatrtet · sstartet · starett · starrtet · startett · startte · starttet · statret
  • stiftetsitftet · sstiftet · stfitet · stifett · stifftet · stiftett · stifttet · stitfet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "startet" for "stiftet" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtaʁtət] versus [ˈʃtɪftət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "startet" or "stiftet" show up more?
"startet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,616 in our German list, against #43,513 for "stiftet". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "startet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stiftet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,329,637 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "startet" and "stiftet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stattet vs stiftet". 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 #1,329,637 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