SchauspielvsSchauspielerTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,271
“Schauspiel” frequency rank
#2,360
“Schauspieler” frequency rank
10631
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Schauspiel Schauspieler
Definition Drama, ernstes Bühnenstück, Bühnenwerk, Theaterstück Darsteller in Film oder Theater

Where the eye mixes Schauspiel and Schauspieler

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Schauspiel runs 10 letters (CCCVVCCVVC) against Schauspieler's 12 (CCCVVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Schauspiel
12 ch
Schauspieler

Look-alike desk: Schauspiel vs Schauspieler

A purely visual mix-up. Schauspiel ([ˈʃaʊ̯ˌʃpiːl]) and Schauspieler ([ˈʃaʊ̯ˌʃpiːlɐ]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Schauspiel” sits inside “Schauspieler”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10631, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Schauspiel is recorded at frequency rank #8,271, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaʊ̯ˌʃpiːl]. Schauspieler is at rank #2,360, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃaʊ̯ˌʃpiːlɐ].

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 10631, this pair ranks #1,974,159 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Schauspiel vs Schauspieler

Shared letters: acehilpsu. Private to "Schauspiel": -. Private to "Schauspieler": r.

"Schauspiel" · 10 letters · shape CCCVVCCVVC  ·  "Schauspieler" · 12 letters · shape CCCVVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Schauspiel ← cshauspiel · scahuspiel · scchauspiel · schasupiel · schaupsiel · schausipel · schauspeil · schauspiell
  • Schauspieler ← cshauspieler · scahuspieler · scchauspieler · schasupieler · schaupsieler · schausipeler · schauspeiler · schauspieelr

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Schauspiel" and "Schauspieler" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃaʊ̯ˌʃpiːl] versus [ˈʃaʊ̯ˌʃpiːlɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Schauspiel" or "Schauspieler"?
"Schauspieler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,360 in our German list, against #8,271 for "Schauspiel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Schauspiel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Schauspieler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,974,159 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Schauspiel" and "Schauspieler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schachspiel vs Schauspiel". 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 #1,974,159 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