Spalt vs Spass, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#22,511
“Spalt” frequency rank: #524
“Spass” frequency rank: 23035
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Spalt	Spass
Definition	eine rissförmige Öffnung	Spaß

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Spalt and Spass apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

Spalt

5 ch

Spass

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Spalt ([ʃpalt]) and Spass ([ʃpaːs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23035, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spalt is recorded at frequency rank #22,511, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃpalt]. Spass is at rank #524, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃpaːs].

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 23035, this pair ranks #1,866,598 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spalt vs Spass

Shared letters: aps. Private to "Spalt": lt. Private to "Spass": -.

"Spalt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "Spass" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

Spalt ← psalt · saplt · spallt · spaltt · spatl · splat · sppalt · sspalt
Spass ← psass · sapss · spas · spaß · sppass · spsas · sspass

Frequency comparison

Spalt#22,511

Spass#524

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Spalt" and "Spass" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ʃpalt] versus [ʃpaːs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "Spalt" or "Spass"?

"Spass" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #524 in our German list, against #22,511 for "Spalt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Spalt vs Spass

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 “Spalt” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable