sechstenvssechsterWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: sechsten is a adjective, sechster is an unknown, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sechsten” is an adjective and “sechster” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,469
“sechsten” frequency rank
#22,886
“sechster” frequency rank
29355
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sechsten sechster
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sechste unbestimmte männliche Deklination von sechste

Where the eye mixes sechsten and sechster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. sechsten and sechster follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
sechsten
8 ch
sechster

Visual trap between sechsten and sechster

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sechsten is [ˈzɛkstn̩] while sechster is [ˈzɛkstɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “sechsten” becomes r in “sechster”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29355, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sechsten is recorded at frequency rank #6,469, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛkstn̩]. sechster is at rank #22,886, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [ˈzɛkstɐ].

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 29355, this pair ranks #1,768,310 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sechsten vs sechster

Shared letters: cehst. Private to "sechsten": n. Private to "sechster": r.

"sechsten" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC  ·  "sechster" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sechsten ← eschsten · scehsten · secchsten · sechhsten · sechsetn · sechssten · sechstenn · sechstne
  • sechster ← eschster · scehster · secchster · sechhster · sechsetr · sechsster · sechsterr · sechstre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sechsten" for "sechster" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sechsten" is an adjective and "sechster" an unknown, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "sechsten" vs "sechster" - which ranks higher?
"sechsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,469 in our German list, against #22,886 for "sechster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sechsten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sechster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,768,310 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sechsten" and "sechster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sechser vs sechster". 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 #1,768,310 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