spacesvsspeciesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#38,421
“spaces” frequency rank
#21,433
“species” frequency rank
59854
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spaces species
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs space die Spezies, die Art

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spaces and species apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
spaces
7 ch
species

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: spaces is averb and speciesanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spaces is recorded at frequency rank #38,421, classified as averb, pronounced […]. species is at rank #21,433, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈspiːʃiːz].

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 59854, this pair ranks #808,836 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of spaces vs species

Shared letters: ceps. Private to "spaces": a. Private to "species": i.

"spaces" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "species" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • spacespsaces · sapces · spacces · spacess · spacse · spaecs · spcaes · sppaces
  • speciespsecies · sepcies · spceies · speccies · speceis · speciess · specise · speices

Frequency comparison

spaces#38,421
species#21,433

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spaces" and "species" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spaces" is a verb and "species" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "spaces" or "species"?
"species" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,433 in our German list, against #38,421 for "spaces". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering spaces vs species

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “spaces”; for a noun, it's “species”.
  • 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