Which to use
“schwerste” is an adjective and “Schwester” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,994
- “schwerste” frequency rank
- #1,459
- “Schwester” frequency rank
- 17453
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schwerste | Schwester |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs schwer | weibliches Kind derselben Eltern |
Where the eye mixes schwerste and Schwester
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schwerste with Schwester
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schwerste is [ˈʃveːɐ̯stə] while Schwester is [ˈʃvɛstɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17453, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schwerste is recorded at frequency rank #15,994, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃveːɐ̯stə]. 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 17453, this pair ranks #1,927,266 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schwerste vs Schwester
Shared letters: cehrstw. Private to "schwerste": -. Private to "Schwester": -.
"schwerste" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCCV · "Schwester" · 9 letters · shape CCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schwerste" for "Schwester" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "schwerste" or "Schwester" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schwerste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Schwester" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,927,266 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schwerste" and "Schwester" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwerere vs schwerste". 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 #1,927,266 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.