Which to use
“sagten” is a verb and “Spaten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,300
- “sagten” frequency rank
- #27,063
- “Spaten” frequency rank
- 32363
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sagten | Spaten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sagen | schaufelähnliches Werkzeug zum Umgraben der Erde |
Where the eye mixes sagten and Spaten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sagten (CVCCVC) and Spaten (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between sagten and Spaten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sagten is [ˈzaːktn̩] while Spaten is [ˈʃpaːtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32363, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sagten is recorded at frequency rank #5,300, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzaːktn̩]. Spaten is at rank #27,063, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpaːtn̩].
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 32363, this pair ranks #1,709,257 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sagten vs Spaten
Shared letters: aenst. Private to "sagten": g. Private to "Spaten": p.
"sagten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Spaten" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sagten" and "Spaten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "sagten" or "Spaten" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "sagten" and "Spaten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sagten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Spaten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,709,257 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sagten" and "Spaten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spaten vs Stuten". 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 #1,709,257 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.