schwierigstevsschwierigstenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#25,304
“schwierigste” frequency rank
#22,494
“schwierigsten” frequency rank
47798
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature schwierigste schwierigsten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs schwierig Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs schwierig

Where the eye mixes schwierigste and schwierigsten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. schwierigste runs 12 letters (CCCCVVCVCCCV) against schwierigsten's 13 (CCCCVVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
schwierigste
13 ch
schwierigsten

Visual trap between schwierigste and schwierigsten

A purely visual mix-up. schwierigste ([ˈʃviːʁɪçstə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “schwierigste” sits inside “schwierigsten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

schwierigste is recorded at frequency rank #25,304, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃviːʁɪçstə]. 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 47798, this pair ranks #1,271,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of schwierigste vs schwierigsten

Shared letters: ceghirstw. Private to "schwierigste": -. Private to "schwierigsten": n.

"schwierigste" · 12 letters · shape CCCCVVCVCCCV  ·  "schwierigsten" · 13 letters · shape CCCCVVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • schwierigste ← cshwierigste · scchwierigste · schhwierigste · schiwerigste · schweirigste · schwieirgste · schwiergiste · schwieriggste
  • schwierigsten ← cshwierigsten · scchwierigsten · schhwierigsten · schiwerigsten · schweirigsten · schwieirgsten · schwiergisten · schwieriggsten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "schwierigste" and "schwierigsten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃviːʁɪçstə] versus [ˈʃviːʁɪçstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "schwierigste" or "schwierigsten"?
"schwierigsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,494 in our German list, against #25,304 for "schwierigste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "schwierigste" 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 #1,271,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "schwierigste" and "schwierigsten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schwierige vs schwierigste". 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 #1,271,601 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