segelnvsspiegelnWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#9,976
“segeln” frequency rank
#12,792
“spiegeln” frequency rank
22768
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature segeln spiegeln
Definition schweben, gleiten, fliegen ein Bild von etwas oder jemandem in einem geeigneten Medium zurückgeben

Where the eye mixes segeln and spiegeln

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
segeln
8 ch
spiegeln

Visual trap between segeln and spiegeln

A purely visual mix-up. segeln ([ˈzeːɡl̩n]) and spiegeln ([ˈʃpiːɡl̩n]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22768, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

segeln is recorded at frequency rank #9,976, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzeːɡl̩n]. spiegeln is at rank #12,792, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpiːɡl̩n].

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 22768, this pair ranks #1,870,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of segeln vs spiegeln

Shared letters: eglns. Private to "segeln": -. Private to "spiegeln": ip.

"segeln" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "spiegeln" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • segelnesgeln · seegln · segelln · segelnn · segenl · seggeln · seglen · sgeeln
  • spiegelnpsiegeln · sipegeln · speigeln · spieegln · spiegelln · spiegelnn · spiegenl · spieggeln

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "segeln" and "spiegeln" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzeːɡl̩n] versus [ˈʃpiːɡl̩n]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "segeln" vs "spiegeln" - which ranks higher?
"segeln" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,976 in our German list, against #12,792 for "spiegeln". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "segeln" and "spiegeln" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "segeln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "spiegeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,870,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "segeln" and "spiegeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seel vs segeln". 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 #1,870,008 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