startsvsstattWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: starts is a verb, statt is a conjunction, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“starts” is a verb and “statt” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,904
“starts” frequency rank
#315
“statt” frequency rank
23219
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature starts statt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs start schließt zusammen mit der Infinitivkonjunktion ›zu‹ einen abhängigen Infinitiv an und zeigt einen Gegensatz/ eine SubstitutionSubstitutiondefiniert) -> »statt zu«

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set starts and statt apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
starts
5 ch
statt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: starts is averb and stattaconjunction. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23219, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

starts is recorded at frequency rank #22,904, classified as averb, pronounced […]. statt is at rank #315, tagged as aconj, pronounced [ʃtat].

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 23219, this pair ranks #1,864,203 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of starts vs statt

Shared letters: ast. Private to "starts": r. Private to "statt": -.

"starts" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "statt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • startssatrts · sstarts · starrts · starst · startss · startts · statrs · strats
  • stattsattt · sstatt · stat · sttat · sttatt · tsatt

Frequency comparison

starts#22,904
statt#315

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "starts" and "statt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "starts" is a verb and "statt" a conjunction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "starts" or "statt"?
"statt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #315 in our German list, against #22,904 for "starts". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering starts vs statt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “starts”; for a conjunction, it's “statt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “starts” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list