Which to use
“gespielt” is a verb and “gezielt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,081
- “gespielt” frequency rank
- #4,352
- “gezielt” frequency rank
- 5433
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gespielt | gezielt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs spielen | auf ein Ziel ausgerichtet |
Where the eye mixes gespielt and gezielt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gespielt runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCC) against gezielt's 7 (CVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: gespielt vs gezielt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gespielt is [ɡəˈʃpiːlt] while gezielt is [ɡəˈt͡siːlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5433, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gespielt is recorded at frequency rank #1,081, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʃpiːlt]. gezielt is at rank #4,352, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈt͡siːlt].
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 5433, this pair ranks #1,994,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gespielt vs gezielt
Shared letters: egilt. Private to "gespielt": ps. Private to "gezielt": z.
"gespielt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC · "gezielt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gespielt" and "gezielt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "gespielt" vs "gezielt" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gespielt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gezielt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,994,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gespielt" and "gezielt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gezielt vs gezieltes". 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 #1,994,763 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.