Which to use
“sieben” is a num and “Spesen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #912
- “sieben” frequency rank
- #36,028
- “Spesen” frequency rank
- 36940
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sieben | Spesen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Kardinalzahl zwischen sechs und acht | Kosten, die in Ausübung einer beruflichen oder geschäftlichen Tätigkeit entstanden sind |
Where the eye mixes sieben and Spesen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sieben (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: sieben vs Spesen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sieben is [ˈziːbn̩] 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 (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sieben is recorded at frequency rank #912, classified as anum, pronounced [ˈziːbn̩]. 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 36940, this pair ranks #1,602,778 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sieben vs Spesen
Shared letters: ens. Private to "sieben": bi. Private to "Spesen": p.
"sieben" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "Spesen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sieben" and "Spesen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "sieben" or "Spesen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sieben" 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 #1,602,778 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sieben" and "Spesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spesen vs Stelen". 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 #1,602,778 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.