jüngstevsjüngstenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,313
“jüngste” frequency rank
#5,274
“jüngsten” frequency rank
11587
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jüngste jüngsten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs jung Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs jung

Where the eye mixes jüngste and jüngsten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. jüngste runs 7 letters (CVCCCCV) against jüngsten's 8 (CVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
jüngste
8 ch
jüngsten

Visual trap between jüngste and jüngsten

A purely visual mix-up. jüngste ([ˈjʏŋstə]) and jüngsten ([ˈjʏŋstn̩]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “jüngste” sits inside “jüngsten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11587, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

jüngste is recorded at frequency rank #6,313, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈjʏŋstə]. jüngsten is at rank #5,274, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈjʏŋstn̩].

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 11587, this pair ranks #1,969,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of jüngste vs jüngsten

Shared letters: egjnstü. Private to "jüngste": -. Private to "jüngsten": -.

"jüngste" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV  ·  "jüngsten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "jüngste" for "jüngsten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈjʏŋstə] versus [ˈjʏŋstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "jüngste" or "jüngsten"?
"jüngsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,274 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 "jüngste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "jüngsten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,969,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "jüngste" and "jüngsten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "jüngste vs jüngstes". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,969,054 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