einfachevseinfachsteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,240
“einfache” frequency rank
#11,219
“einfachste” frequency rank
13459
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einfache einfachste
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs einfach Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs einfach

Where the eye mixes einfache and einfachste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
einfache
10 ch
einfachste

Why the eye confuses einfache with einfachste

A purely visual mix-up. einfache ([ˈaɪ̯nfaxə]) and einfachste ([ˈaɪ̯nfaxstə]) 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 13459, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einfache is recorded at frequency rank #2,240, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nfaxə]. einfachste is at rank #11,219, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nfaxstə].

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 13459, this pair ranks #1,957,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einfache vs einfachste

Shared letters: acefhin. Private to "einfache": -. Private to "einfachste": st.

"einfache" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCCV  ·  "einfachste" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • einfacheeifnache · einafche · einfacche · einfaceh · einfachhe · einfahce · einfcahe · einffache
  • einfachsteeifnachste · einafchste · einfacchste · einfachhste · einfachset · einfachsste · einfachstte · einfachtse

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einfache" and "einfachste" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nfaxə] versus [ˈaɪ̯nfaxstə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "einfache" vs "einfachste" - which ranks higher?
"einfache" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,240 in our German list, against #11,219 for "einfachste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "einfache" and "einfachste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "einfache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einfachste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,957,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einfache" and "einfachste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einfache vs einfachem". 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 #1,957,851 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list