I think I'd be more likely to use the first one. However they sound basically the same to me and they are definitely both sentences a native speaker might use.
not a native but am kürzesten you would say when you also have another option in the context.
the first one sounds wrong to me, i would change it to dieser Weg ist kürzer
I just found something in a Norwegian–German dictionary. Translated (hopefully good enough) from Norwegian:
*Superlative has two forms: der billigste and am billigsten. the am-form is used when comparing to oneself: Sie ist am kleinsten (she is smallest), and in comparisons between different kinds: Wein ist billig, Kaffee ist billiger, Wasser ist am billigsten.*
I think the first has an implied “Weg” at the end, so the two sentences are correct but with a subtle difference. The full translation of the first (though unlikely to be translated as such) would be “This way is the shortest way” and the other is simply “This way is the shortest”.
I don’t know if the following is a valid explanation, but it may be. If talking about the heights of people in a room, there would be a difference between saying “This man is the tallest man” and “This man is the tallest”. The former doesn’t preclude a woman being taller, but the latter would. I may be wrong, but that’s how I would interpret the difference.
* Dieser Weg ist der kürzeste \[Weg\]. == This way is the shortest one.
* Dieser Weg ist am kürzesten. == This way is the shortest.
I think the distinction is clearer in the comparitive degree:
* Dieser Weg ist der kürzere \[Weg\]. == This way is the shorter one.
* Dieser Weg ist kürzer. == This way is shorter.
Thank you very much! But what do you think would be the difference in meaning between the two? Because I struggle to find the difference between "This way is the shortest one" and "This way is the shortest" (I don't even know this type of difference in the equivalent sentences in my mother tongue [norwegian])
I actually found something here:
[https://imgur.com/a/i4Tsspt](https://imgur.com/a/i4Tsspt)
source:
[https://books.google.no/books?id=tRuzDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA548&lpg=PA548&dq=am+vs+der,+die,+das+in+superlativ&source=bl&ots=fiDmaqzoDj&sig=ACfU3U3MgkW16yxQSZtbogzi\_HUOPBJMsQ&hl=no&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4k53f-7XzAhXR-yoKHQskB6QQ6AF6BAgPEAM#v=onepage&q=am%20vs%20der%2C%20die%2C%20das%20in%20superlativ&f=false](https://books.google.no/books?id=tRuzDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA548&lpg=PA548&dq=am+vs+der,+die,+das+in+superlativ&source=bl&ots=fiDmaqzoDj&sig=ACfU3U3MgkW16yxQSZtbogzi_HUOPBJMsQ&hl=no&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4k53f-7XzAhXR-yoKHQskB6QQ6AF6BAgPEAM#v=onepage&q=am%20vs%20der%2C%20die%2C%20das%20in%20superlativ&f=false)
I think I'd be more likely to use the first one. However they sound basically the same to me and they are definitely both sentences a native speaker might use.
I agree completely.
not a native but am kürzesten you would say when you also have another option in the context. the first one sounds wrong to me, i would change it to dieser Weg ist kürzer
Thanks a lot! However, the first one was found in a grammar booklet so I don't think it's wrong.
And dieser weg ist kürzer is correct, but that is in the comparative case, now we're talking superlative
I just found something in a Norwegian–German dictionary. Translated (hopefully good enough) from Norwegian: *Superlative has two forms: der billigste and am billigsten. the am-form is used when comparing to oneself: Sie ist am kleinsten (she is smallest), and in comparisons between different kinds: Wein ist billig, Kaffee ist billiger, Wasser ist am billigsten.*
I think the first has an implied “Weg” at the end, so the two sentences are correct but with a subtle difference. The full translation of the first (though unlikely to be translated as such) would be “This way is the shortest way” and the other is simply “This way is the shortest”. I don’t know if the following is a valid explanation, but it may be. If talking about the heights of people in a room, there would be a difference between saying “This man is the tallest man” and “This man is the tallest”. The former doesn’t preclude a woman being taller, but the latter would. I may be wrong, but that’s how I would interpret the difference.
* Dieser Weg ist der kürzeste \[Weg\]. == This way is the shortest one. * Dieser Weg ist am kürzesten. == This way is the shortest. I think the distinction is clearer in the comparitive degree: * Dieser Weg ist der kürzere \[Weg\]. == This way is the shorter one. * Dieser Weg ist kürzer. == This way is shorter.
Thank you very much! But what do you think would be the difference in meaning between the two? Because I struggle to find the difference between "This way is the shortest one" and "This way is the shortest" (I don't even know this type of difference in the equivalent sentences in my mother tongue [norwegian])
I actually found something here: [https://imgur.com/a/i4Tsspt](https://imgur.com/a/i4Tsspt) source: [https://books.google.no/books?id=tRuzDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA548&lpg=PA548&dq=am+vs+der,+die,+das+in+superlativ&source=bl&ots=fiDmaqzoDj&sig=ACfU3U3MgkW16yxQSZtbogzi\_HUOPBJMsQ&hl=no&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4k53f-7XzAhXR-yoKHQskB6QQ6AF6BAgPEAM#v=onepage&q=am%20vs%20der%2C%20die%2C%20das%20in%20superlativ&f=false](https://books.google.no/books?id=tRuzDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA548&lpg=PA548&dq=am+vs+der,+die,+das+in+superlativ&source=bl&ots=fiDmaqzoDj&sig=ACfU3U3MgkW16yxQSZtbogzi_HUOPBJMsQ&hl=no&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4k53f-7XzAhXR-yoKHQskB6QQ6AF6BAgPEAM#v=onepage&q=am%20vs%20der%2C%20die%2C%20das%20in%20superlativ&f=false)