günstigevsgünstigsteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,960
“günstige” frequency rank
#19,247
“günstigste” frequency rank
25207
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature günstige günstigste
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs günstig Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs günstig

Where the eye mixes günstige and günstigste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. günstige runs 8 letters (CVCCCVCV) against günstigste's 10 (CVCCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
günstige
10 ch
günstigste

Visual trap between günstige and günstigste

A purely visual mix-up. günstige ([ˈɡʏnstɪɡə]) and günstigste ([ˈɡʏnstɪçstə]) 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 25207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

günstige is recorded at frequency rank #5,960, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʏnstɪɡə]. günstigste is at rank #19,247, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡʏnstɪçstə].

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 25207, this pair ranks #1,836,577 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of günstige vs günstigste

Shared letters: eginstü. Private to "günstige": -. Private to "günstigste": -.

"günstige" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "günstigste" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "günstige" for "günstigste" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈɡʏnstɪɡə] versus [ˈɡʏnstɪçstə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "günstige" vs "günstigste" - which ranks higher?
"günstige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,960 in our German list, against #19,247 for "günstigste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "günstige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "günstigste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,836,577 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "günstige" and "günstigste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "günstigere vs günstigste". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,836,577 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