früherevsfrühesteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,732
“frühere” frequency rank
#28,195
“früheste” frequency rank
31927
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature frühere früheste
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Komparativs des Adjektivs früh Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs früh

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set frühere and früheste apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
frühere
8 ch
früheste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. frühere ([ˈfʁyːəʁə]) and früheste ([ˈfʁyːəstə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31927, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

frühere is recorded at frequency rank #3,732, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁyːəʁə]. früheste is at rank #28,195, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈfʁyːəstə].

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 31927, this pair ranks #1,718,239 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of frühere vs früheste

Shared letters: efhrü. Private to "frühere": -. Private to "früheste": st.

"frühere" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "früheste" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV

Frequency comparison

frühere#3,732
früheste#28,195

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "frühere" and "früheste" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfʁyːəʁə] versus [ˈfʁyːəstə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "frühere" or "früheste"?
"frühere" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,732 in our German list, against #28,195 for "früheste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering frühere vs früheste

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “frühere” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list