Which to use
“älteste” and “ältesten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,334
- “älteste” frequency rank
- #4,674
- “ältesten” frequency rank
- 10008
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | älteste | ältesten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs alt | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs alt |
Where the eye mixes älteste and ältesten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. älteste runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against ältesten's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses älteste with ältesten
A purely visual mix-up. älteste ([ˈɛltəstə]) and ältesten ([ˈɛltəstn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “älteste” sits inside “ältesten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10008, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
älteste is recorded at frequency rank #5,334, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛltəstə]. ältesten is at rank #4,674, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛltəstn̩].
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 10008, this pair ranks #1,977,229 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of älteste vs ältesten
Shared letters: elstä. Private to "älteste": -. Private to "ältesten": n.
"älteste" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "ältesten" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "älteste" for "ältesten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "älteste" or "ältesten"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "älteste" and "ältesten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "älteste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ältesten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,977,229 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "älteste" and "ältesten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "altert vs älteste". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,977,229 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.