jüngstvsjüngsterConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#12,740
“jüngst” frequency rank
#12,741
“jüngster” frequency rank
25481
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jüngst jüngster
Definition vor kurzem Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs jung

Where the eye mixes jüngst and jüngster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. jüngst runs 6 letters (CVCCCC) against jüngster's 8 (CVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
jüngst
8 ch
jüngster

Visual trap between jüngst and jüngster

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: jüngst is [jʏŋst] while jüngster is [ˈjʏŋstɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “jüngst” sits inside “jüngster”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25481, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

jüngst is recorded at frequency rank #12,740, classified as anadv, pronounced [jʏŋst]. 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 25481, this pair ranks #1,832,617 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of jüngst vs jüngster

Shared letters: gjnstü. Private to "jüngst": -. Private to "jüngster": er.

"jüngst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "jüngster" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "jüngst" and "jüngster" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "jüngst" is an adverb and "jüngster" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "jüngst" vs "jüngster" - which ranks higher?
"jüngst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,740 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.

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 "jüngst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "jüngster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,832,617 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "jüngst" and "jüngster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Jungfer vs jüngster". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,832,617 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