stirbtvsstürmtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,078
“stirbt” frequency rank
#21,786
“stürmt” frequency rank
24864
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stirbt stürmt
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sterben 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stürmen

Where the eye mixes stirbt and stürmt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. stirbt and stürmt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
stirbt
6 ch
stürmt

Why the eye confuses stirbt with stürmt

A purely visual mix-up. stirbt ([ʃtɪʁpt]) and stürmt ([ʃtʏʁmt]) 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 24864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stirbt is recorded at frequency rank #3,078, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃtɪʁpt]. stürmt is at rank #21,786, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtʏʁmt].

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 24864, this pair ranks #1,841,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of stirbt vs stürmt

Shared letters: rst. Private to "stirbt": bi. Private to "stürmt": mü.

"stirbt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "stürmt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • stirbt ← sitrbt · sstirbt · stibrt · stirbbt · stirbtt · stirrbt · stirtb · stribt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "stirbt" for "stürmt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃtɪʁpt] versus [ʃtʏʁmt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "stirbt" or "stürmt"?
"stirbt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,078 in our German list, against #21,786 for "stürmt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "stirbt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stürmt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,841,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "stirbt" and "stürmt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stürmt vs surft". 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 #1,841,547 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