mitspielenvsMitspielerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mitspielen is a verb, Mitspieler is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mitspielen” is a verb and “Mitspieler” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,137
“mitspielen” frequency rank
#14,877
“Mitspieler” frequency rank
25014
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mitspielen Mitspieler
Definition mit anderen gemeinsam etwas spielen derjenige, der an einem Sport-, Gesellschafts- oder sonstigen Spiel aktiv teilnimmt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mitspielen and Mitspieler apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
mitspielen
10 ch
Mitspieler

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mitspielen is [ˈmɪtˌʃpiːlən] while Mitspieler is [ˈmɪtˌʃpiːlɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “mitspielen” becomes r in “Mitspieler”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mitspielen is recorded at frequency rank #10,137, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪtˌʃpiːlən]. Mitspieler is at rank #14,877, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɪtˌʃpiːlɐ].

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 25014, this pair ranks #1,839,367 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mitspielen vs Mitspieler

Shared letters: eilmpst. Private to "mitspielen": n. Private to "Mitspieler": r.

"mitspielen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC  ·  "Mitspieler" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mitspielenimtspielen · mistpielen · mitpsielen · mitsipelen · mitspeilen · mitspieeln · mitspielenn · mitspiellen
  • Mitspielerimtspieler · mistpieler · mitpsieler · mitsipeler · mitspeiler · mitspieelr · mitspielerr · mitspieller

Frequency comparison

mitspielen#10,137
Mitspieler#14,877

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mitspielen" and "Mitspieler" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mitspielen" is a verb and "Mitspieler" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mitspielen" or "Mitspieler"?
"mitspielen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,137 in our German list, against #14,877 for "Mitspieler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mitspielen vs Mitspieler

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mitspielen”; for a noun, it's “Mitspieler”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mitspielen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list