stürztevsstütztWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,995
“stürzte” frequency rank
#12,599
“stützt” frequency rank
20594
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stürzte stützt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs stürzen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stützen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set stürzte and stützt apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
stürzte
6 ch
stützt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. stürzte ([ˈʃtʏʁt͡stə]) and stützt ([ʃtʏt͡st]) 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 20594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stürzte is recorded at frequency rank #7,995, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʏʁt͡stə]. stützt is at rank #12,599, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃtʏt͡st].

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 20594, this pair ranks #1,895,938 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of stürzte vs stützt

Shared letters: stzü. Private to "stürzte": er. Private to "stützt": -.

"stürzte" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV  ·  "stützt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC

Frequency comparison

stürzte#7,995
stützt#12,599

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "stürzte" and "stützt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtʏʁt͡stə] versus [ʃtʏt͡st]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "stürzte" or "stützt"?
"stürzte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,995 in our German list, against #12,599 for "stützt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering stürzte vs stützt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “stürzte” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list