schlechterevsschlechtesteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,689
“schlechtere” frequency rank
#10,560
“schlechteste” frequency rank
29249
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schlechtere schlechteste
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs schlecht Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs schlecht

Where the eye mixes schlechtere and schlechteste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

11 ch
schlechtere
12 ch
schlechteste

Visual trap between schlechtere and schlechteste

A purely visual mix-up. schlechtere ([ˈʃlɛçtəʁə]) and schlechteste ([ˈʃlɛçtəstə]) 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 29249, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schlechtere is recorded at frequency rank #18,689, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɛçtəʁə]. schlechteste is at rank #10,560, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃlɛçtəstə].

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 29249, this pair ranks #1,770,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schlechtere vs schlechteste

Shared letters: cehlst. Private to "schlechtere": r. Private to "schlechteste": -.

"schlechtere" · 11 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVCV  ·  "schlechteste" · 12 letters · shape CCCCVCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schlechterecshlechtere · scchlechtere · schelchtere · schhlechtere · schlcehtere · schlecchtere · schlechetre · schlechhtere
  • schlechtestecshlechteste · scchlechteste · schelchteste · schhlechteste · schlcehteste · schlecchteste · schlechetste · schlechhteste

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schlechtere" and "schlechteste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃlɛçtəʁə] versus [ˈʃlɛçtəstə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schlechtere" or "schlechteste"?
"schlechteste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,560 in our German list, against #18,689 for "schlechtere". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "schlechtere" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schlechteste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,770,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schlechtere" and "schlechteste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schlachter vs schlechtere". 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 #1,770,358 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