Kritischeren

Kritischeren is not a standard Dutch word found in major dictionaries. It is sometimes presented or encountered as a comparative form of the adjective kritisch, meaning more critical. In contemporary Dutch, the usual ways to form the comparative are either with the suffix -er, yielding kritischer, or with the periphrastic construction meer kritisch (two words). Therefore, kritischer or meer kritisch are the normal options, while kritischer is common in many contexts and kritischer than kritischer would be. Kritischeren, by contrast, is generally regarded as nonstandard or a misformation.

The appearance of kritischeren is often linked to language contact or misspelling. It can arise from influence from German, where kritisch becomes kritischer, or from overgeneralization of suffix patterns in Dutch. It may also occur in informal writing or social media as an emphatic or playful form, but it risks ambiguity or perceived inaccuracy in formal contexts. In most edited Dutch text, kritischeren would be corrected to kritischer or meer kritisch, depending on the surrounding words and the intended register.

In terms of alternatives and usage guidance, Dutch speakers typically choose between kritischer and meer kritisch, or use the phrase meer kritisch than, depending on the sentence structure. For the superlative, most Dutch varieties would say meest kritisch rather than a form like kritischsten. In German, the corresponding form would be kritischer, and in English, more critical. Overall, kritischeren is best treated as nonstandard and avoided in formal writing.