Which to use
“längs” is an adverb and “längste” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,976
- “längs” frequency rank
- #11,926
- “längste” frequency rank
- 30902
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | längs | längste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in der Längsachse | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs lang |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set längs and längste apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: längs is [lɛŋs] while längste is [ˈlɛŋstə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “längs” sits inside “längste”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30902, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
längs is recorded at frequency rank #18,976, classified as anadv, pronounced [lɛŋs]. längste is at rank #11,926, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlɛŋstə].
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 30902, this pair ranks #1,738,835 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of längs vs längste
Shared letters: glnsä. Private to "längs": -. Private to "längste": et.
"längs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "längste" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "längs" and "längste" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "längs" or "längste"?
Remembering längs vs längste
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “längs”; for an adjective, it's “längste”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “längs” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable