Which to use
“engste” is an adjective and “erste” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,076
- “engste” frequency rank
- #250
- “erste” frequency rank
- 38326
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | engste | erste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs eng | (zeitlich oder örtlich oder in einer anderen Reihenfolge) an vorderster Stelle sich befindend, dem zweiten vorangehend |
Where the eye mixes engste and erste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between engste and erste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: engste is [ˈɛŋstə] while erste is [ˈeːɐ̯stə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38326, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
engste is recorded at frequency rank #38,076, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛŋstə]. erste is at rank #250, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯stə].
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 38326, this pair ranks #1,566,890 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of engste vs erste
Shared letters: est. Private to "engste": gn. Private to "erste": r.
"engste" · 6 letters · shape VCCCCV · "erste" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "engste" and "erste" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "engste" or "erste" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "engste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,566,890 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "engste" and "erste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "engste vs engstem". 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 #1,566,890 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.