HörspielvsHörspieleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,735
“Hörspiel” frequency rank
#29,633
“Hörspiele” frequency rank
46368
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hörspiel Hörspiele
Definition ursprünglich dramatische Dichtung für den Hörfunk; heute auch auf anderen Medien wie Schallplatte und CD erhältlich Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Hörspiel

Where the eye mixes Hörspiel and Hörspiele

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

8 ch
Hörspiel
9 ch
Hörspiele

Look-alike desk: Hörspiel vs Hörspiele

A purely visual mix-up. Hörspiel ([ˈhøːɐ̯ˌʃpiːl]) and Hörspiele ([ˈhøːɐ̯ˌʃpiːlə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Hörspiel” sits inside “Hörspiele”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hörspiel is recorded at frequency rank #16,735, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈhøːɐ̯ˌʃpiːl]. Hörspiele is at rank #29,633, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈhøːɐ̯ˌʃpiːlə].

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 46368, this pair ranks #1,321,443 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hörspiel vs Hörspiele

Shared letters: ehilprsö. Private to "Hörspiel": -. Private to "Hörspiele": -.

"Hörspiel" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC  ·  "Hörspiele" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Hörspiel" for "Hörspiele" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈhøːɐ̯ˌʃpiːl] versus [ˈhøːɐ̯ˌʃpiːlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Hörspiel" or "Hörspiele"?
"Hörspiel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,735 in our German list, against #29,633 for "Hörspiele". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Hörspiel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Hörspiele" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,321,443 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Hörspiel" and "Hörspiele" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Hinspiel vs Hörspiel". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,321,443 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