kürzerevskurzesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,116
“kürzere” frequency rank
#8,742
“kurzes” frequency rank
22858
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kürzere kurzes
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Komparativs des Adjektivs kurz Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs kurz

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set kürzere and kurzes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
kürzere
6 ch
kurzes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. kürzere ([ˈkʏʁt͡səʁə]) and kurzes ([ˈkʊʁt͡səs]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22858, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kürzere is recorded at frequency rank #14,116, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkʏʁt͡səʁə]. kurzes is at rank #8,742, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkʊʁt͡səs].

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 22858, this pair ranks #1,868,833 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kürzere vs kurzes

Shared letters: ekrz. Private to "kürzere": ü. Private to "kurzes": su.

"kürzere" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "kurzes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • kurzeskkurzes · kruzes · kurezs · kurrzes · kurzess · kurzse · kurzzes · kuzres

Frequency comparison

kürzere#14,116
kurzes#8,742

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "kürzere" and "kurzes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkʏʁt͡səʁə] versus [ˈkʊʁt͡səs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "kürzere" or "kurzes"?
"kurzes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,742 in our German list, against #14,116 for "kürzere". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering kürzere vs kurzes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “kürzere” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list