skatevsSpatenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: skate is a verb, Spaten is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“skate” is a verb and “Spaten” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,585
“skate” frequency rank
#27,063
“Spaten” frequency rank
72648
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature skate Spaten
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs skaten schaufelähnliches Werkzeug zum Umgraben der Erde

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set skate and Spaten apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
skate
6 ch
Spaten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: skate is [ˈskɛɪ̯tə] while Spaten is [ˈʃpaːtn̩]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72648, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

skate is recorded at frequency rank #45,585, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈskɛɪ̯tə]. Spaten is at rank #27,063, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpaːtn̩].

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 72648, this pair ranks #382,382 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of skate vs Spaten

Shared letters: aest. Private to "skate": k. Private to "Spaten": np.

"skate" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Spaten" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • skatesakte · skaet · skatte · skkate · sktae · sskate
  • Spatenpsaten · sapten · spaetn · spatenn · spatne · spatten · sppaten · sptaen

Frequency comparison

skate#45,585
Spaten#27,063

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "skate" and "Spaten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "skate" is a verb and "Spaten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "skate" or "Spaten"?
"Spaten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,063 in our German list, against #45,585 for "skate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering skate vs Spaten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “skate”; for a noun, it's “Spaten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “skate” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list