Which to use
“stolpern” and “stolperte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,140
- “stolpern” frequency rank
- #39,050
- “stolperte” frequency rank
- 63190
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stolpern | stolperte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (beinahe) stürzen, (beinahe) hinfallen, straucheln | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stolpern |
Where the eye mixes stolpern and stolperte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. stolpern runs 8 letters (CCVCCVCC) against stolperte's 9 (CCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses stolpern with stolperte
A purely visual mix-up. stolpern ([ˈʃtɔlpɐn]) and stolperte ([ˈʃtɔlpɐtə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stolpern is recorded at frequency rank #24,140, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɔlpɐn]. stolperte is at rank #39,050, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɔlpɐtə].
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 63190, this pair ranks #685,569 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of stolpern vs stolperte
Shared letters: eloprst. Private to "stolpern": n. Private to "stolperte": -.
"stolpern" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC · "stolperte" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stolpern" for "stolperte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "stolpern" or "stolperte"?
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 "stolpern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stolperte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #685,569 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stolpern" and "stolperte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stolpert vs stolperte". 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 #685,569 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.