jüngerevsjüngsteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,190
“jüngere” frequency rank
#6,313
“jüngste” frequency rank
11503
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jüngere jüngste
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs jung Nominativ Singular Femininum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs jung

Where the eye mixes jüngere and jüngste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. jüngere (CVCCVCV) and jüngste (CVCCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
jüngere
7 ch
jüngste

Why the eye confuses jüngere with jüngste

A purely visual mix-up. jüngere ([ˈjʏŋəʁə]) and jüngste ([ˈjʏŋstə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11503, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

jüngere is recorded at frequency rank #5,190, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈjʏŋəʁə]. jüngste is at rank #6,313, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈjʏŋstə].

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 11503, this pair ranks #1,969,550 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of jüngere vs jüngste

Shared letters: egjnü. Private to "jüngere": r. Private to "jüngste": st.

"jüngere" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "jüngste" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "jüngere" and "jüngste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈjʏŋəʁə] versus [ˈjʏŋstə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "jüngere" or "jüngste"?
"jüngere" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,190 in our German list, against #6,313 for "jüngste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "jüngere" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "jüngste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,969,550 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "jüngere" and "jüngste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "jüngere vs jüngeres". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,969,550 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