spacesvssparenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“spaces” and “sparen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#38,421
“spaces” frequency rank
#1,904
“sparen” frequency rank
40325
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spaces sparen
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs space Geld für die spätere Verwendung ansammeln

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
spaces
6 ch
sparen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

spaces and sparen are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spaces is recorded at frequency rank #38,421, classified as averb, pronounced […]. sparen is at rank #1,904, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpaːʁən].

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 40325, this pair ranks #1,511,745 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of spaces vs sparen

Shared letters: aeps. Private to "spaces": c. Private to "sparen": nr.

"spaces" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "sparen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • spacespsaces · sapces · spacces · spacess · spacse · spaecs · spcaes · sppaces
  • sparenpsaren · sapren · spaern · sparenn · sparne · sparren · spparen · spraen

Frequency comparison

spaces#38,421
sparen#1,904

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spaces" and "sparen" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "spaces" or "sparen"?
"sparen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,904 in our German list, against #38,421 for "spaces". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering spaces vs sparen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “spaces” 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