Which to use
“arme” and “ärmste” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,652
- “arme” frequency rank
- #49,427
- “ärmste” frequency rank
- 51079
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arme | ärmste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs arm | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs arm |
Where the eye mixes arme and ärmste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. arme runs 4 letters (VCCV) against ärmste's 6 (VCCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between arme and ärmste
A purely visual mix-up. arme ([ˈaʁmə]) and ärmste ([ˈɛʁmstə]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51079, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
arme is recorded at frequency rank #1,652, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaʁmə]. ärmste is at rank #49,427, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛʁmstə].
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 51079, this pair ranks #1,149,288 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arme vs ärmste
Shared letters: emr. Private to "arme": a. Private to "ärmste": stä.
"arme" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "ärmste" · 6 letters · shape VCCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- arme ← amre · arem · armme · arrme · rame
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "arme" and "ärmste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "arme" or "ärmste" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "arme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ärmste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,149,288 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arme" and "ärmste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ärmere vs ärmste". 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 #1,149,288 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.