gespaltenvsgespieltenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,846
“gespalten” frequency rank
#26,901
“gespielten” frequency rank
40747
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gespalten gespielten
Definition durch Spaltung in zwei oder mehrere Teile geteilt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs gespielt

Where the eye mixes gespalten and gespielten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. gespalten runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against gespielten's 10 (CVCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
gespalten
10 ch
gespielten

Why the eye confuses gespalten with gespielten

A purely visual mix-up. gespalten ([ɡəˈʃpaltn̩]) and gespielten ([ɡəˈʃpiːltn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40747, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gespalten is recorded at frequency rank #13,846, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʃpaltn̩]. gespielten is at rank #26,901, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈʃpiːltn̩].

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 40747, this pair ranks #1,499,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gespalten vs gespielten

Shared letters: eglnpst. Private to "gespalten": a. Private to "gespielten": i.

"gespalten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "gespielten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gespaltenegspalten · gepsalten · gesaplten · gespaletn · gespallten · gespaltenn · gespaltne · gespaltten
  • gespieltenegspielten · gepsielten · gesipelten · gespeilten · gespieletn · gespiellten · gespieltenn · gespieltne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "gespalten" and "gespielten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈʃpaltn̩] versus [ɡəˈʃpiːltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gespalten" or "gespielten"?
"gespalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,846 in our German list, against #26,901 for "gespielten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gespalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gespielten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,499,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gespalten" and "gespielten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gespalten vs gestalte". 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 #1,499,493 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