Which to use
“Sieb” is a noun and “spies” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,309
- “Sieb” frequency rank
- #43,504
- “spies” frequency rank
- 68813
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Sieb | spies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Schale oder Fläche mit Löchern zum Trennen gemischter verschiedenartiger Bestandteile; auch im übertragenen Sinne verwendet (Sieb des Eratosthenes) | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs speisen |
Where the eye mixes Sieb and spies
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Sieb with spies
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Sieb is [ziːp] while spies is [ʃpiːs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Sieb is recorded at frequency rank #25,309, classified as anoun, pronounced [ziːp]. spies is at rank #43,504, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpiːs].
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 68813, this pair ranks #496,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Sieb vs spies
Shared letters: eis. Private to "Sieb": b. Private to "spies": p.
"Sieb" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "spies" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Sieb" for "spies" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Sieb" or "spies"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Sieb" and "spies" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Sieb" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #496,044 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Sieb" and "spies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Skier vs spies". 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 #496,044 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.