erfolgreichstenvserfolgreichsterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,267
“erfolgreichsten” frequency rank
#39,317
“erfolgreichster” frequency rank
49584
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature erfolgreichsten erfolgreichster
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs erfolgreich Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs erfolgreich

Where the eye mixes erfolgreichsten and erfolgreichster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 14 letters in sequence. erfolgreichsten and erfolgreichster follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCCVVCCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

15 ch
erfolgreichsten
15 ch
erfolgreichster

Why the eye confuses erfolgreichsten with erfolgreichster

A purely visual mix-up. erfolgreichsten ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çstn̩]) 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 a single letter - n in “erfolgreichsten” becomes r in “erfolgreichster”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

erfolgreichsten is recorded at frequency rank #10,267, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çstn̩]. 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 49584, this pair ranks #1,205,937 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of erfolgreichsten vs erfolgreichster

Shared letters: cefghilorst. Private to "erfolgreichsten": n. Private to "erfolgreichster": -.

"erfolgreichsten" · 15 letters · shape VCCVCCCVVCCCCVC  ·  "erfolgreichster" · 15 letters · shape VCCVCCCVVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • erfolgreichsten ← efrolgreichsten · erffolgreichsten · erflogreichsten · erfoglreichsten · erfolgerichsten · erfolggreichsten · erfolgrecihsten · erfolgreicchsten
  • erfolgreichster ← efrolgreichster · erffolgreichster · erflogreichster · erfoglreichster · erfolgerichster · erfolggreichster · erfolgrecihster · erfolgreicchster

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "erfolgreichsten" and "erfolgreichster" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çstn̩] versus [ɛɐ̯ˈfɔlkʁaɪ̯çstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "erfolgreichsten" or "erfolgreichster"?
"erfolgreichsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,267 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

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "erfolgreichsten" 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 #1,205,937 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "erfolgreichsten" 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 #1,205,937 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