oberstevsobersterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,224
“oberste” frequency rank
#18,647
“oberster” frequency rank
24871
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature oberste oberster
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs ober- Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs ober-

Where the eye mixes oberste and oberster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. oberste runs 7 letters (VCVCCCV) against oberster's 8 (VCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
oberste
8 ch
oberster

Look-alike desk: oberste vs oberster

A purely visual mix-up. oberste ([ˈoːbɐstə]) and oberster ([ˈoːbɐstɐ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “oberste” sits inside “oberster”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24871, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

oberste is recorded at frequency rank #6,224, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈoːbɐstə]. oberster is at rank #18,647, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈoːbɐstɐ].

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 24871, this pair ranks #1,841,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of oberste vs oberster

Shared letters: beorst. Private to "oberste": -. Private to "oberster": -.

"oberste" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV  ·  "oberster" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • oberste ← boerste · obberste · oberrste · oberset · obersste · oberstte · obertse · obesrte
  • oberster ← boerster · obberster · oberrster · obersetr · obersster · obersterr · oberstre · oberstter

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "oberste" and "oberster" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈoːbɐstə] versus [ˈoːbɐstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "oberste" vs "oberster" - which ranks higher?
"oberste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,224 in our German list, against #18,647 for "oberster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "oberste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "oberster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,841,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "oberste" and "oberster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "oberer vs oberster". 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 #1,841,431 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