sicherstevssicherteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sicherste is a adjective, sicherte is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sicherste” is an adjective and “sicherte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,141
“sicherste” frequency rank
#8,627
“sicherte” frequency rank
30768
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sicherste sicherte
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs sicher 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sichern

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sicherste and sicherte apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
sicherste
8 ch
sicherte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sicherste is [ˈzɪçɐstə] while sicherte is [ˈzɪçɐtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30768, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sicherste is recorded at frequency rank #22,141, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɪçɐstə]. sicherte is at rank #8,627, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɪçɐtə].

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 30768, this pair ranks #1,741,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sicherste vs sicherte

Shared letters: cehirst. Private to "sicherste": -. Private to "sicherte": -.

"sicherste" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV  ·  "sicherte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sichersteischerste · sciherste · siccherste · sicehrste · sicherrste · sicherset · sichersste · sicherstte
  • sicherteischerte · sciherte · siccherte · sicehrte · sicheret · sicherrte · sichertte · sichetre

Frequency comparison

sicherste#22,141
sicherte#8,627

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sicherste" and "sicherte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sicherste" is an adjective and "sicherte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sicherste" or "sicherte"?
"sicherte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,627 in our German list, against #22,141 for "sicherste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sicherste vs sicherte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “sicherste”; for a verb, it's “sicherte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sicherste” 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