Which to use
“stinkt” and “stirbt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,811
- “stinkt” frequency rank
- #3,078
- “stirbt” frequency rank
- 12889
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stinkt | stirbt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs stinken | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sterben |
Where the eye mixes stinkt and stirbt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. stinkt and stirbt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses stinkt with stirbt
A purely visual mix-up. stinkt ([ʃtɪŋkt]) and stirbt ([ʃtɪʁpt]) 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 12889, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stinkt is recorded at frequency rank #9,811, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃtɪŋkt]. stirbt is at rank #3,078, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtɪʁpt].
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 12889, this pair ranks #1,961,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stinkt vs stirbt
Shared letters: ist. Private to "stinkt": kn. Private to "stirbt": br.
"stinkt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "stirbt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "stinkt" and "stirbt" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "stinkt" vs "stirbt" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "stinkt" and "stirbt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "stinkt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stirbt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,961,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stinkt" and "stirbt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sting vs stinkt". 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 #1,961,406 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.