neuntevsneusteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: neunte is a num, neuste is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“neunte” is a num and “neuste” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,641
“neunte” frequency rank
#20,684
“neuste” frequency rank
39325
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature neunte neuste
Definition nach dem beziehungsweise der achten kommend; dem zehnten vorausgehend Nominativ Singular Femininum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs neu

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set neunte and neuste apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
neunte
6 ch
neuste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: neunte is [ˈnɔɪ̯ntə] while neuste is [ˈnɔɪ̯stə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “neunte” becomes s in “neuste”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

neunte is recorded at frequency rank #18,641, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯ntə]. neuste is at rank #20,684, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈnɔɪ̯stə].

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 39325, this pair ranks #1,539,905 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of neunte vs neuste

Shared letters: entu. Private to "neunte": -. Private to "neuste": s.

"neunte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "neuste" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • neunteenunte · nenute · neunet · neunnte · neuntte · neutne · nneunte · nuente
  • neusteenuste · nesute · neuset · neusste · neustte · neutse · nneuste · nueste

Frequency comparison

neunte#18,641
neuste#20,684

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "neunte" and "neuste" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "neunte" is a num and "neuste" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "neunte" or "neuste"?
"neunte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,641 in our German list, against #20,684 for "neuste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering neunte vs neuste

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “neunte”; for an adjective, it's “neuste”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “neunte” 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