schönerevsschönsteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,760
“schönere” frequency rank
#4,932
“schönste” frequency rank
30692
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schönere schönste
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Komparativs des Adjektivs schön Nominativ Singular Femininum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schön

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schönere and schönste apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
schönere
8 ch
schönste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. schönere ([ˈʃøːnəʁə]) and schönste ([ˈʃøːnstə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30692, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schönere is recorded at frequency rank #25,760, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃøːnəʁə]. schönste is at rank #4,932, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃøːnstə].

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 30692, this pair ranks #1,742,906 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schönere vs schönste

Shared letters: cehnsö. Private to "schönere": r. Private to "schönste": t.

"schönere" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCVCV  ·  "schönste" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV

Frequency comparison

schönere#25,760
schönste#4,932

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schönere" and "schönste" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃøːnəʁə] versus [ˈʃøːnstə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schönere" or "schönste"?
"schönste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,932 in our German list, against #25,760 for "schönere". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering schönere vs schönste

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schönere” 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