unterschiedlichervsunterschiedlichsterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,777
“unterschiedlicher” frequency rank
#39,091
“unterschiedlichster” frequency rank
44868
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unterschiedlicher unterschiedlichster
Definition Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unterschiedlich Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs unterschiedlich

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set unterschiedlicher and unterschiedlichster apart are highlighted. They share 17 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

17 ch
unterschiedlicher
19 ch
unterschiedlichster

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. unterschiedlicher ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçɐ]) and unterschiedlichster ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçstɐ]) 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 44868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unterschiedlicher is recorded at frequency rank #5,777, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçɐ]. unterschiedlichster is at rank #39,091, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçstɐ].

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 44868, this pair ranks #1,372,052 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of unterschiedlicher vs unterschiedlichster

Shared letters: cdehilnrstu. Private to "unterschiedlicher": -. Private to "unterschiedlichster": -.

"unterschiedlicher" · 17 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVCCVCCVC  ·  "unterschiedlichster" · 19 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVCCVCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterschiedlichernuterschiedlicher · unetrschiedlicher · unnterschiedlicher · untercshiedlicher · unterrschiedlicher · unterscchiedlicher · unterscheidlicher · unterschhiedlicher
  • unterschiedlichsternuterschiedlichster · unetrschiedlichster · unnterschiedlichster · untercshiedlichster · unterrschiedlichster · unterscchiedlichster · unterscheidlichster · unterschhiedlichster

Frequency comparison

unterschiedlicher#5,777
unterschiedlichster#39,091

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unterschiedlicher" and "unterschiedlichster" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçɐ] versus [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪçstɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "unterschiedlicher" or "unterschiedlichster"?
"unterschiedlicher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,777 in our German list, against #39,091 for "unterschiedlichster". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering unterschiedlicher vs unterschiedlichster

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list