tiefstenvstiefsterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,039
“tiefsten” frequency rank
#41,503
“tiefster” frequency rank
54542
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tiefsten tiefster
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs tief Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs tief

Where the eye mixes tiefsten and tiefster

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

8 ch
tiefsten
8 ch
tiefster

Visual trap between tiefsten and tiefster

A purely visual mix-up. tiefsten ([ˈtiːfstn̩]) and tiefster ([ˈtiːfstɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “tiefsten” becomes r in “tiefster”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54542, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tiefsten is recorded at frequency rank #13,039, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈtiːfstn̩]. tiefster is at rank #41,503, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈtiːfstɐ].

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 54542, this pair ranks #1,014,829 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tiefsten vs tiefster

Shared letters: efist. Private to "tiefsten": n. Private to "tiefster": r.

"tiefsten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC  ·  "tiefster" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tiefstenitefsten · teifsten · tieffsten · tiefsetn · tiefssten · tiefstenn · tiefstne · tiefstten
  • tiefsteritefster · teifster · tieffster · tiefsetr · tiefsster · tiefsterr · tiefstre · tiefstter

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tiefsten" for "tiefster" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtiːfstn̩] versus [ˈtiːfstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tiefsten" or "tiefster"?
"tiefsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,039 in our German list, against #41,503 for "tiefster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tiefsten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tiefster" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,014,829 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tiefsten" and "tiefster" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tiefsee vs tiefster". 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 #1,014,829 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