sterbevsstoreWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: sterbe is a verb, store is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sterbe” is a verb and “store” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,988
“sterbe” frequency rank
#6,598
“store” frequency rank
16586
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sterbe store
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sterben der Laden, das Geschäft, britisch nur ab gewisser Größe mit verschiedenen Waren

Where the eye mixes sterbe and store

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
sterbe
5 ch
store

Visual trap between sterbe and store

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sterbe is [ˈʃtɛʁbə] while store is [stɔː(ɹ)]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sterbe is recorded at frequency rank #9,988, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁbə]. store is at rank #6,598, tagged as anoun, pronounced [stɔː(ɹ)].

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 16586, this pair ranks #1,934,614 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sterbe vs store

Shared letters: erst. Private to "sterbe": b. Private to "store": o.

"sterbe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "store" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sterbesetrbe · ssterbe · stebre · sterbbe · stereb · sterrbe · stterbe · tserbe
  • storesstore · stoer · storre · stroe · sttore · tsore

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sterbe" and "store" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sterbe" is a verb and "store" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sterbe" or "store"?
"store" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,598 in our German list, against #9,988 for "sterbe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "sterbe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "store" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,934,614 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sterbe" and "store" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "store vs storia". 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 #1,934,614 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