sterbevsstörteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,988
“sterbe” frequency rank
#23,328
“störte” frequency rank
33316
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sterbe störte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sterben 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stören

Where the eye mixes sterbe and störte

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

6 ch
sterbe
6 ch
störte

Visual trap between sterbe and störte

A purely visual mix-up. sterbe ([ˈʃtɛʁbə]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33316, 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]. 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 33316, this pair ranks #1,688,600 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sterbe vs störte

Shared letters: erst. Private to "sterbe": b. Private to "störte": ö.

"sterbe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "störte" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sterbesetrbe · ssterbe · stebre · sterbbe · stereb · sterrbe · stterbe · tserbe

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sterbe" and "störte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɛʁbə] versus [ˈʃtøːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sterbe" or "störte"?
"sterbe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,988 in our German list, against #23,328 for "störte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sterbe" 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 #1,688,600 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sterbe" 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 #1,688,600 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