SaisonvsSpionConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#767
“Saison” frequency rank
#18,070
“Spion” frequency rank
18837
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Saison Spion
Definition Zeitabschnitt des Jahres, in dem bestimmte Dinge, Vorhaben intensiver oder anders(artig) als sonst betrieben werden ein heimlicher, unerkannter Beobachter, der die gegnerische Seite auszukunden hat

Where the eye mixes Saison and Spion

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Saison
5 ch
Spion

Visual trap between Saison and Spion

A purely visual mix-up. Saison ([zɛˈzɔ̃ː]) and Spion ([ʃpiˈoːn]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18837, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Saison is recorded at frequency rank #767, classified as anoun, pronounced [zɛˈzɔ̃ː]. Spion is at rank #18,070, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃpiˈoːn].

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 18837, this pair ranks #1,914,424 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Saison vs Spion

Shared letters: inos. Private to "Saison": a. Private to "Spion": p.

"Saison" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Spion" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Saisonasison · saiosn · saisno · saisonn · saisson · sasion · siason · ssaison
  • Spionpsion · sipon · spino · spionn · spoin · sppion · sspion

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Saison" for "Spion" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([zɛˈzɔ̃ː] versus [ʃpiˈoːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Saison" or "Spion"?
"Saison" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #767 in our German list, against #18,070 for "Spion". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Saison" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,914,424 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Saison" and "Spion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spies vs Spion". 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 #1,914,424 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