JüngervsjüngsterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Jünger is a noun, jüngster is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Jünger” is a noun and “jüngster” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,803
“Jünger” frequency rank
#12,741
“jüngster” frequency rank
17544
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Jünger jüngster
Definition einer der zunächst zwölf Männer, die Schüler und Anhänger von Jesus waren und die später als Apostel das Evangelium verkündeten Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs jung

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Jünger
8 ch
jüngster

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Jünger is [ˈjʏŋɐ] while jüngster is [ˈjʏŋstɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17544, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Jünger is recorded at frequency rank #4,803, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈjʏŋɐ]. jüngster is at rank #12,741, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈjʏŋstɐ].

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 17544, this pair ranks #1,926,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Jünger vs jüngster

Shared letters: egjnrü. Private to "Jünger": -. Private to "jüngster": st.

"Jünger" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "jüngster" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Frequency comparison

Jünger#4,803
jüngster#12,741

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Jünger" and "jüngster" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Jünger" is a noun and "jüngster" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Jünger" or "jüngster"?
"Jünger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,803 in our German list, against #12,741 for "jüngster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Jünger vs jüngster

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Jünger”; for an adjective, it's “jüngster”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Jünger” 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