wichtigstenvswichtigstesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,751
“wichtigsten” frequency rank
#22,569
“wichtigstes” frequency rank
24320
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature wichtigsten wichtigstes
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs wichtig Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Superlativs des Adjektivs wichtig

Where the eye mixes wichtigsten and wichtigstes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. wichtigsten and wichtigstes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
wichtigsten
11 ch
wichtigstes

Look-alike desk: wichtigsten vs wichtigstes

A purely visual mix-up. wichtigsten ([ˈvɪçtɪçstn̩]) and wichtigstes ([ˈvɪçtɪçstəs]) 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 “wichtigsten” becomes s in “wichtigstes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24320, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

wichtigsten is recorded at frequency rank #1,751, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪçtɪçstn̩]. wichtigstes is at rank #22,569, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvɪçtɪçstəs].

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 24320, this pair ranks #1,849,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of wichtigsten vs wichtigstes

Shared letters: ceghistw. Private to "wichtigsten": n. Private to "wichtigstes": -.

"wichtigsten" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCCVC  ·  "wichtigstes" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wichtigsteniwchtigsten · wcihtigsten · wicchtigsten · wichhtigsten · wichitgsten · wichtgisten · wichtiggsten · wichtigsetn
  • wichtigstesiwchtigstes · wcihtigstes · wicchtigstes · wichhtigstes · wichitgstes · wichtgistes · wichtiggstes · wichtigsets

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "wichtigsten" and "wichtigstes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɪçtɪçstn̩] versus [ˈvɪçtɪçstəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "wichtigsten" or "wichtigstes"?
"wichtigsten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,751 in our German list, against #22,569 for "wichtigstes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "wichtigsten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "wichtigstes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,849,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "wichtigsten" and "wichtigstes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "wichtigeres vs wichtigstes". 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 #1,849,284 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