Which to use
“sai” is a verb and “spät” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47,708
- “sai” frequency rank
- #1,335
- “spät” frequency rank
- 49043
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sai | spät |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sapere | zeitlich fortgeschritten, kurz vor Schluss, gegen Ende |
Where the eye mixes sai and spät
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sai vs spät
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sai is [ˈsai̯] while spät is [ʃpɛːt]. 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 49043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sai is recorded at frequency rank #47,708, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsai̯]. spät is at rank #1,335, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃpɛːt].
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 49043, this pair ranks #1,226,196 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sai vs spät
Shared letters: s. Private to "sai": ai. Private to "spät": ptä.
"sai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "spät" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sai" and "spät" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "sai" or "spät"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spät" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,226,196 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sai" and "spät" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sai vs seg". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,226,196 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.