Which to use
“serra” and “Sperre” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,251
- “serra” frequency rank
- #10,943
- “Sperre” frequency rank
- 60194
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | serra | Sperre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Säge | ein Bauwerk, das den freien Verkehr einschränkt |
Where the eye mixes serra and Sperre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. serra runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Sperre's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: serra vs Sperre
A purely visual mix-up. serra ([ˈsɛrə]) and Sperre ([ˈʃpɛʁə]) 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 60194, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
serra is recorded at frequency rank #49,251, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsɛrə]. Sperre is at rank #10,943, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɛʁə].
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 60194, this pair ranks #796,062 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of serra vs Sperre
Shared letters: ers. Private to "serra": a. Private to "Sperre": p.
"serra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Sperre" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "serra" for "Sperre" ever safe?
Frequency check: "serra" vs "Sperre" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "serra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Sperre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #796,062 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "serra" and "Sperre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sega vs serra". 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 #796,062 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.