leichterevsleichtesteConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#24,816
“leichtere” frequency rank
#44,767
“leichteste” frequency rank
69583
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leichtere leichteste
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs leicht Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs leicht

Where the eye mixes leichtere and leichteste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. leichtere runs 9 letters (CVVCCCVCV) against leichteste's 10 (CVVCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
leichtere
10 ch
leichteste

Visual trap between leichtere and leichteste

A purely visual mix-up. leichtere ([ˈlaɪ̯çtəʁə]) and leichteste ([ˈlaɪ̯çtəstə]) 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 69583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leichtere is recorded at frequency rank #24,816, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯çtəʁə]. leichteste is at rank #44,767, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯çtəstə].

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 69583, this pair ranks #472,171 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of leichtere vs leichteste

Shared letters: cehilt. Private to "leichtere": r. Private to "leichteste": s.

"leichtere" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCCVCV  ·  "leichteste" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leichtere ← elichtere · lecihtere · leicchtere · leichetre · leichhtere · leichteer · leichterre · leichtree
  • leichteste ← elichteste · lecihteste · leicchteste · leichetste · leichhteste · leichteset · leichtesste · leichtestte

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "leichtere" for "leichteste" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaɪ̯çtəʁə] versus [ˈlaɪ̯çtəstə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "leichtere" vs "leichteste" - which ranks higher?
"leichtere" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,816 in our German list, against #44,767 for "leichteste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "leichtere" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leichteste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #472,171 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "leichtere" and "leichteste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leichteste vs leuchtete". 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 #472,171 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