schönstenvsschönstesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,485
“schönsten” frequency rank
#41,457
“schönstes” frequency rank
44942
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schönsten schönstes
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs 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 schönsten and schönstes apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
schönsten
9 ch
schönstes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. schönsten ([ˈʃøːnstn̩]) 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 a single letter - n in “schönsten” becomes s in “schönstes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44942, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schönsten is recorded at frequency rank #3,485, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃøːnstn̩]. 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 44942, this pair ranks #1,369,606 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schönsten vs schönstes

Shared letters: cehnstö. Private to "schönsten": -. Private to "schönstes": -.

"schönsten" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC  ·  "schönstes" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schönsten" and "schönstes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃøːnstn̩] versus [ˈʃøːnstəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schönsten" or "schönstes"?
"schönsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,485 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