spannendenvsspannendstenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,176
“spannenden” frequency rank
#42,831
“spannendsten” frequency rank
53007
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spannenden spannendsten
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs spannend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs spannend

Where the eye mixes spannenden and spannendsten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. spannenden runs 10 letters (CCVCCVCCVC) against spannendsten's 12 (CCVCCVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
spannenden
12 ch
spannendsten

Why the eye confuses spannenden with spannendsten

A purely visual mix-up. spannenden ([ˈʃpanəndn̩]) and spannendsten ([ˈʃpanənt͡stn̩]) 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 53007, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spannenden is recorded at frequency rank #10,176, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃpanəndn̩]. spannendsten is at rank #42,831, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃpanənt͡stn̩].

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 53007, this pair ranks #1,074,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of spannenden vs spannendsten

Shared letters: adenps. Private to "spannenden": -. Private to "spannendsten": t.

"spannenden" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCVCCVC  ·  "spannendsten" · 12 letters · shape CCVCCVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • spannenden ← psannenden · sapnnenden · spanenden · spanennden · spannednen · spannendden · spannendenn · spannendne
  • spannendsten ← psannendsten · sapnnendsten · spanendsten · spanenndsten · spannednsten · spannenddsten · spannendsetn · spannendssten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "spannenden" for "spannendsten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpanəndn̩] versus [ˈʃpanənt͡stn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "spannenden" or "spannendsten"?
"spannenden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,176 in our German list, against #42,831 for "spannendsten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "spannenden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "spannendsten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,074,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "spannenden" and "spannendsten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spannenden vs spannendes". 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 #1,074,736 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