Which to use
“obere” and “oberste” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,403
- “obere” frequency rank
- #6,224
- “oberste” frequency rank
- 11627
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | obere | oberste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs ober- | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs ober- |
Where the eye mixes obere and oberste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses obere with oberste
A purely visual mix-up. obere ([ˈoːbəʁə]) and oberste ([ˈoːbɐstə]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
obere is recorded at frequency rank #5,403, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈoːbəʁə]. oberste is at rank #6,224, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈoːbɐstə].
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 11627, this pair ranks #1,968,828 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of obere vs oberste
Shared letters: beor. Private to "obere": -. Private to "oberste": st.
"obere" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "oberste" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "obere" and "oberste" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "obere" vs "oberste" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "obere" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "oberste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,968,828 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "obere" and "oberste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "obere vs Oboe". 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 #1,968,828 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.