schönesvsschönstesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,040
“schönes” frequency rank
#41,457
“schönstes” frequency rank
43497
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schönes schönstes
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schön Nominativ Singular Neutrum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schön

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set schönes and schönstes apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
schönes
9 ch
schönstes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. schönes ([ˈʃøːnəs]) and schönstes ([ˈʃøːnstəs]) 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 43497, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schönes is recorded at frequency rank #2,040, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃøːnəs]. schönstes is at rank #41,457, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃøːnstəs].

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 43497, this pair ranks #1,416,201 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schönes vs schönstes

Shared letters: cehnsö. Private to "schönes": -. Private to "schönstes": t.

"schönes" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC  ·  "schönstes" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schönes" and "schönstes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃøːnəs] versus [ˈʃøːnstəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schönes" or "schönstes"?
"schönes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,040 in our German list, against #41,457 for "schönstes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list