schwierigenvsschwierigstenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,589
“schwierigen” frequency rank
#22,494
“schwierigsten” frequency rank
29083
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schwierigen schwierigsten
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs schwierig Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs schwierig

Where the eye mixes schwierigen and schwierigsten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. schwierigen runs 11 letters (CCCCVVCVCVC) against schwierigsten's 13 (CCCCVVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
schwierigen
13 ch
schwierigsten

Look-alike desk: schwierigen vs schwierigsten

A purely visual mix-up. schwierigen ([ˈʃviːʁɪɡn̩]) and schwierigsten ([ˈʃviːʁɪçstn̩]) 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 29083, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schwierigen is recorded at frequency rank #6,589, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃviːʁɪɡn̩]. schwierigsten is at rank #22,494, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃviːʁɪçstn̩].

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 29083, this pair ranks #1,773,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of schwierigen vs schwierigsten

Shared letters: ceghinrsw. Private to "schwierigen": -. Private to "schwierigsten": t.

"schwierigen" · 11 letters · shape CCCCVVCVCVC  ·  "schwierigsten" · 13 letters · shape CCCCVVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schwierigen ← cshwierigen · scchwierigen · schhwierigen · schiwerigen · schweirigen · schwieirgen · schwiergien · schwieriegn
  • schwierigsten ← cshwierigsten · scchwierigsten · schhwierigsten · schiwerigsten · schweirigsten · schwieirgsten · schwiergisten · schwieriggsten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "schwierigen" and "schwierigsten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃviːʁɪɡn̩] versus [ˈʃviːʁɪçstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "schwierigen" vs "schwierigsten" - which ranks higher?
"schwierigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,589 in our German list, against #22,494 for "schwierigsten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schwierigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "schwierigsten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,773,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schwierigen" and "schwierigsten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwierigste vs schwierigsten". 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 #1,773,365 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list