SohlenvsspülenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#30,771
“Sohlen” frequency rank
#18,072
“spülen” frequency rank
48843
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sohlen spülen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Sohle etwas mit Wasser oder anderer Flüssigkeit waschen

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Sohlen
6 ch
spülen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Sohlen is [ˈzoːlən] while spülen is [ˈʃpyːlən]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48843, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sohlen is recorded at frequency rank #30,771, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzoːlən]. spülen is at rank #18,072, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpyːlən].

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 48843, this pair ranks #1,233,546 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Sohlen vs spülen

Shared letters: elns. Private to "Sohlen": ho. Private to "spülen": .

"Sohlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "spülen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Sohlenoshlen · sholen · soheln · sohhlen · sohlenn · sohllen · sohlne · solhen

Frequency comparison

Sohlen#30,771
spülen#18,072

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Sohlen" and "spülen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Sohlen" is a noun and "spülen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Sohlen" or "spülen"?
"spülen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,072 in our German list, against #30,771 for "Sohlen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Sohlen vs spülen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Sohlen”; for a verb, it's “spülen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Sohlen” 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