jüngstvsjüngstesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#12,740
“jüngst” frequency rank
#35,261
“jüngstes” frequency rank
48001
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jüngst jüngstes
Definition vor kurzem Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs jung

Where the eye mixes jüngst and jüngstes

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

6 ch
jüngst
8 ch
jüngstes

Why the eye confuses jüngst with jüngstes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: jüngst is [jʏŋst] while jüngstes is [ˈjʏŋstəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “jüngst” sits inside “jüngstes”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48001, 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]. jüngstes is at rank #35,261, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈjʏŋstəs].

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 48001, this pair ranks #1,264,386 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of jüngst vs jüngstes

Shared letters: gjnstü. Private to "jüngst": -. Private to "jüngstes": e.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "jüngst" and "jüngstes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "jüngst" is an adverb and "jüngstes" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "jüngst" or "jüngstes" show up more?
"jüngst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,740 in our German list, against #35,261 for "jüngstes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "jüngst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "jüngstes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,264,386 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "jüngst" and "jüngstes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "jüngeres vs jüngstes". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,264,386 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