erfolgreichervserfolgreichsterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,038
“erfolgreicher” frequency rank
#39,317
“erfolgreichster” frequency rank
46355
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfolgreicher erfolgreichster
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs erfolgreich Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs erfolgreich

Where the eye mixes erfolgreicher and erfolgreichster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 13 letters in sequence. erfolgreicher runs 13 letters (VCCVCCCVVCCVC) against erfolgreichster's 15 (VCCVCCCVVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
erfolgreicher
15 ch
erfolgreichster

Visual trap between erfolgreicher and erfolgreichster

A purely visual mix-up. erfolgreicher ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çɐ]) and erfolgreichster ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çstɐ]) 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 46355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erfolgreicher is recorded at frequency rank #7,038, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çɐ]. erfolgreichster is at rank #39,317, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çstɐ].

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 46355, this pair ranks #1,321,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erfolgreicher vs erfolgreichster

Shared letters: cefghilor. Private to "erfolgreicher": -. Private to "erfolgreichster": st.

"erfolgreicher" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCCVVCCVC  ·  "erfolgreichster" · 15 letters · shape VCCVCCCVVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erfolgreicher ← efrolgreicher · erffolgreicher · erflogreicher · erfoglreicher · erfolgericher · erfolggreicher · erfolgreciher · erfolgreiccher
  • erfolgreichster ← efrolgreichster · erffolgreichster · erflogreichster · erfoglreichster · erfolgerichster · erfolggreichster · erfolgrecihster · erfolgreicchster

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erfolgreicher" and "erfolgreichster" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çɐ] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "erfolgreicher" vs "erfolgreichster" - which ranks higher?
"erfolgreicher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,038 in our German list, against #39,317 for "erfolgreichster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "erfolgreicher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "erfolgreichster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,321,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erfolgreicher" and "erfolgreichster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erfolgreichste vs erfolgreichster". 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 #1,321,899 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