feinstenvsfeinsterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,490
“feinsten” frequency rank
#46,638
“feinster” frequency rank
59128
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feinsten feinster
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs fein Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs fein

Where the eye mixes feinsten and feinster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. feinsten and feinster follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
feinsten
8 ch
feinster

Visual trap between feinsten and feinster

A purely visual mix-up. feinsten ([ˈfaɪ̯nstn̩]) and feinster ([ˈfaɪ̯nstɐ]) 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 “feinsten” becomes r in “feinster”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59128, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feinsten is recorded at frequency rank #12,490, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯nstn̩]. feinster is at rank #46,638, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfaɪ̯nstɐ].

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 59128, this pair ranks #836,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of feinsten vs feinster

Shared letters: efinst. Private to "feinsten": -. Private to "feinster": r.

"feinsten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC  ·  "feinster" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feinsten ← efinsten · feinnsten · feinsetn · feinssten · feinstenn · feinstne · feinstten · feintsen
  • feinster ← efinster · feinnster · feinsetr · feinsster · feinsterr · feinstre · feinstter · feintser

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "feinsten" and "feinster" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfaɪ̯nstn̩] versus [ˈfaɪ̯nstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "feinsten" or "feinster" show up more?
"feinsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,490 in our German list, against #46,638 for "feinster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "feinsten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "feinster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #836,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "feinsten" and "feinster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feinster vs Fensters". 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 #836,215 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