stärkervsstärksterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,678
“stärker” frequency rank
#48,522
“stärkster” frequency rank
50200
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature stärker stärkster
Definition Prädikative und adverbielle Form des Komparativs des Adjektivs stark Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs stark

Where the eye mixes stärker and stärkster

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
stärker
9 ch
stärkster

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. stärker ([ˈʃtɛʁkɐ]) and stärkster ([ˈʃtɛʁkstɐ]) 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 50200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

stärker is recorded at frequency rank #1,678, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁkɐ]. stärkster is at rank #48,522, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃtɛʁkstɐ].

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 50200, this pair ranks #1,182,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of stärker vs stärkster

Shared letters: ekrstä. Private to "stärker": -. Private to "stärkster": -.

"stärker" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "stärkster" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "stärker" and "stärkster" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃtɛʁkɐ] versus [ˈʃtɛʁkstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "stärker" or "stärkster"?
"stärker" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,678 in our German list, against #48,522 for "stärkster". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list