schönstervsSchwesterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: schönster is a adjective, Schwester is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“schönster” is an adjective and “Schwester” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,621
“schönster” frequency rank
#1,459
“Schwester” frequency rank
41080
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schönster Schwester
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schön weibliches Kind derselben Eltern

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
schönster
9 ch
Schwester

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schönster is [ˈʃøːnstɐ] while Schwester is [ˈʃvɛstɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41080, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schönster is recorded at frequency rank #39,621, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃøːnstɐ]. Schwester is at rank #1,459, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃvɛstɐ].

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 41080, this pair ranks #1,489,947 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schönster vs Schwester

Shared letters: cehrst. Private to "schönster": . Private to "Schwester": w.

"schönster" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCCVC  ·  "Schwester" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schwestercshwester · scchwester · schewster · schhwester · schwesetr · schwesster · schwesterr · schwestre

Frequency comparison

schönster#39,621
Schwester#1,459

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schönster" and "Schwester" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "schönster" is an adjective and "Schwester" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "schönster" or "Schwester"?
"Schwester" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,459 in our German list, against #39,621 for "schönster". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering schönster vs Schwester

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “schönster”; for a noun, it's “Schwester”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “schönster” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list