Which to use
“kleinere” and “kleinste” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,660
- “kleinere” frequency rank
- #6,554
- “kleinste” frequency rank
- 9214
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kleinere | kleinste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Komparativs des Adjektivs klein | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs klein |
Where the eye mixes kleinere and kleinste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. kleinere (CCVVCVCV) and kleinste (CCVVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses kleinere with kleinste
A purely visual mix-up. kleinere ([ˈklaɪ̯nəʁə]) and kleinste ([ˈklaɪ̯nstə]) 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 9214, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kleinere is recorded at frequency rank #2,660, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈklaɪ̯nəʁə]. kleinste is at rank #6,554, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈklaɪ̯nstə].
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 9214, this pair ranks #1,980,951 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of kleinere vs kleinste
Shared letters: eikln. Private to "kleinere": r. Private to "kleinste": st.
"kleinere" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCV · "kleinste" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kleinere" and "kleinste" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "kleinere" vs "kleinste" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "kleinere" and "kleinste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "kleinere" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kleinste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,980,951 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kleinere" and "kleinste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kleinste vs kleinster". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,980,951 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.