unterschiedlichenvsunterschiedlichstenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,221
“unterschiedlichen” frequency rank
#13,968
“unterschiedlichsten” frequency rank
16189
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unterschiedlichen unterschiedlichsten
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs unterschiedlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs unterschiedlich

Where the eye mixes unterschiedlichen and unterschiedlichsten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 17 letters in sequence. unterschiedlichen runs 17 letters (VCCVCCCCVVCCVCCVC) against unterschiedlichsten's 19 (VCCVCCCCVVCCVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

17 ch
unterschiedlichen
19 ch
unterschiedlichsten

Visual trap between unterschiedlichen and unterschiedlichsten

A purely visual mix-up. unterschiedlichen ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçn̩]) and unterschiedlichsten ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçstn̩]) 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 16189, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unterschiedlichen is recorded at frequency rank #2,221, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçn̩]. unterschiedlichsten is at rank #13,968, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçstn̩].

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 16189, this pair ranks #1,937,845 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of unterschiedlichen vs unterschiedlichsten

Shared letters: cdehilnrstu. Private to "unterschiedlichen": -. Private to "unterschiedlichsten": -.

"unterschiedlichen" · 17 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVCCVCCVC  ·  "unterschiedlichsten" · 19 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVCCVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterschiedlichen ← nuterschiedlichen · unetrschiedlichen · unnterschiedlichen · untercshiedlichen · unterrschiedlichen · unterscchiedlichen · unterscheidlichen · unterschhiedlichen
  • unterschiedlichsten ← nuterschiedlichsten · unetrschiedlichsten · unnterschiedlichsten · untercshiedlichsten · unterrschiedlichsten · unterscchiedlichsten · unterscheidlichsten · unterschhiedlichsten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "unterschiedlichen" and "unterschiedlichsten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçn̩] versus [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "unterschiedlichen" vs "unterschiedlichsten" - which ranks higher?
"unterschiedlichen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,221 in our German list, against #13,968 for "unterschiedlichsten". 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 "unterschiedlichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unterschiedlichsten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,937,845 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unterschiedlichen" and "unterschiedlichsten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterschiedlichste vs unterschiedlichsten". 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 #1,937,845 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