Which to use
“sausen” is a verb and “Spesen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,608
- “sausen” frequency rank
- #36,028
- “Spesen” frequency rank
- 72636
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sausen | Spesen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein scharfes Geräusch verursachen, das gleichmäßig an- und abschwillt und an Reibung erinnert | Kosten, die in Ausübung einer beruflichen oder geschäftlichen Tätigkeit entstanden sind |
Where the eye mixes sausen and Spesen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sausen (CVVCVC) and Spesen (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: sausen vs Spesen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sausen is [ˈzaʊ̯zn̩] while Spesen is [ˈʃpeːzn̩]. 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 72636, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sausen is recorded at frequency rank #36,608, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzaʊ̯zn̩]. Spesen is at rank #36,028, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpeːzn̩].
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 72636, this pair ranks #382,730 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sausen vs Spesen
Shared letters: ens. Private to "sausen": au. Private to "Spesen": p.
"sausen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "Spesen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sausen" and "Spesen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "sausen" or "Spesen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sausen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Spesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #382,730 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sausen" and "Spesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sausen 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 #382,730 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.