übelstevsübelstenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,478
“übelste” frequency rank
#41,610
“übelsten” frequency rank
76088
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature übelste übelsten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs übel Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs übel

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set übelste and übelsten apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
übelste
8 ch
übelsten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. übelste ([ˈyːbl̩stə]) and übelsten ([ˈyːbl̩stn̩]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “übelste” sits inside “übelsten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

übelste is recorded at frequency rank #34,478, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈyːbl̩stə]. übelsten is at rank #41,610, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈyːbl̩stn̩].

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 76088, this pair ranks #292,063 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of übelste vs übelsten

Shared letters: belstü. Private to "übelste": -. Private to "übelsten": n.

"übelste" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV  ·  "übelsten" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCCVC

Frequency comparison

übelste#34,478
übelsten#41,610

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "übelste" and "übelsten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈyːbl̩stə] versus [ˈyːbl̩stn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "übelste" or "übelsten"?
"übelste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,478 in our German list, against #41,610 for "übelsten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering übelste vs übelsten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “übelste” 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