jüngstenvsjüngsterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,274
“jüngsten” frequency rank
#12,741
“jüngster” frequency rank
18015
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature jüngsten jüngster
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs jung Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs jung

Where the eye mixes jüngsten and jüngster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. jüngsten and jüngster follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
jüngsten
8 ch
jüngster

Why the eye confuses jüngsten with jüngster

A purely visual mix-up. jüngsten ([ˈjʏŋstn̩]) and jüngster ([ˈjʏŋstɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “jüngsten” becomes r in “jüngster”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

jüngsten is recorded at frequency rank #5,274, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈjʏŋstn̩]. 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 18015, this pair ranks #1,922,188 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of jüngsten vs jüngster

Shared letters: egjnstü. Private to "jüngsten": -. Private to "jüngster": r.

"jüngsten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC  ·  "jüngster" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "jüngsten" and "jüngster" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈjʏŋstn̩] versus [ˈjʏŋstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "jüngsten" or "jüngster" show up more?
"jüngsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,274 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

Eye-level mix-up between "jüngsten" and "jüngster" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "jüngsten" 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 #1,922,188 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "jüngsten" and "jüngster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Jungfer vs jüngster". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,922,188 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