Which to use
“stürzen” and “stürzten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,362
- “stürzen” frequency rank
- #24,530
- “stürzten” frequency rank
- 30892
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stürzen | stürzten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine hilflose, ungewollte Bewegung nach unten ausführen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stürzen |
Where the eye mixes stürzen and stürzten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. stürzen runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against stürzten's 8 (CCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between stürzen and stürzten
A purely visual mix-up. stürzen ([ˈʃtʏʁt͡sn̩]) and stürzten ([ˈʃtʏʁt͡stn̩]) 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 30892, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stürzen is recorded at frequency rank #6,362, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʏʁt͡sn̩]. stürzten is at rank #24,530, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʏʁt͡stn̩].
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 30892, this pair ranks #1,739,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of stürzen vs stürzten
Shared letters: enrstzü. Private to "stürzen": -. Private to "stürzten": -.
"stürzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "stürzten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stürzen" for "stürzten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "stürzen" or "stürzten" show up more?
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 "stürzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stürzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,739,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stürzen" and "stürzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stürzten vs Stuten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,739,019 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.