Which to use
“son” is a determiner and “Spion” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,881
- “son” frequency rank
- #18,070
- “Spion” frequency rank
- 23951
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | son | Spion |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | umgangssprachlich: | ein heimlicher, unerkannter Beobachter, der die gegnerische Seite auszukunden hat |
Where the eye mixes son and Spion
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between son and Spion
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: son is [zoːn] while Spion is [ʃpiˈoːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (determiner vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23951, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
son is recorded at frequency rank #5,881, classified as adet, pronounced [zoːn]. Spion is at rank #18,070, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃpiˈoːn].
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 23951, this pair ranks #1,854,345 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of son vs Spion
Shared letters: nos. Private to "son": -. Private to "Spion": ip.
"son" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "Spion" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Spion ← psion · sipon · spino · spionn · spoin · sppion · sspion
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "son" and "Spion" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "son" vs "Spion" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "son" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Spion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,854,345 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "son" and "Spion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spies vs Spion". 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 #1,854,345 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.