sicherstevssichertenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#22,141
“sicherste” frequency rank
#24,127
“sicherten” frequency rank
46268
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
sicherste
9 ch
sicherten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sicherste is [ˈzɪçɐstə] while sicherten is [ˈzɪçɐtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46268, 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]. sicherten is at rank #24,127, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɪçɐtn̩].

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 46268, this pair ranks #1,324,967 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sicherste vs sicherten

Shared letters: cehirst. Private to "sicherste": -. Private to "sicherten": n.

"sicherste" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV  ·  "sicherten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sichersteischerste · sciherste · siccherste · sicehrste · sicherrste · sicherset · sichersste · sicherstte
  • sichertenischerten · sciherten · siccherten · sicehrten · sicheretn · sicherrten · sichertenn · sichertne

Frequency comparison

sicherste#22,141
sicherten#24,127

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sicherste" and "sicherten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sicherste" is an adjective and "sicherten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sicherste" or "sicherten"?
"sicherste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,141 in our German list, against #24,127 for "sicherten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sicherste vs sicherten

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 “sicherten”.
  • 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