Which to use
“Stern” and “Sterns” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,617
- “Stern” frequency rank
- #38,432
- “Sterns” frequency rank
- 41049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Stern | Sterns |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | massereiche, selbst leuchtende Gaskugel, Himmelskörper | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Stern |
Where the eye mixes Stern and Sterns
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Stern runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against Sterns's 6 (CCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Stern with Sterns
A purely visual mix-up. Stern ([ʃtɛʁn]) and Sterns ([ʃtɛʁns]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Stern” sits inside “Sterns”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Stern is recorded at frequency rank #2,617, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃtɛʁn]. Sterns is at rank #38,432, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtɛʁns].
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 41049, this pair ranks #1,490,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Stern vs Sterns
Shared letters: enrst. Private to "Stern": -. Private to "Sterns": -.
"Stern" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "Sterns" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Stern" for "Sterns" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Stern" or "Sterns" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Stern" and "Sterns" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Stern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Sterns" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,490,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Stern" and "Sterns" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "steps vs Sterns". 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 #1,490,819 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.