SpaltvssplitConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#22,511
“Spalt” frequency rank
#19,399
“split” frequency rank
41910
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spalt split
Definition eine rissförmige Öffnung (der Länge nach) in Teile brechen, splittern, sich längs teilen

Where the eye mixes Spalt and split

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Spalt
5 ch
split

Look-alike desk: Spalt vs split

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Spalt is [ʃpalt] while split is [splɪt]. 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 41910, 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]. split is at rank #19,399, tagged as averb, pronounced [splɪt].

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 41910, this pair ranks #1,465,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Spalt vs split

Shared letters: lpst. Private to "Spalt": a. Private to "split": i.

"Spalt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "split" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spaltpsalt · saplt · spallt · spaltt · spatl · splat · sppalt · sspalt
  • splitpslit · slpit · spilt · splitt · spllit · splti · spplit · ssplit

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Spalt" for "split" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Spalt" is a noun and "split" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Spalt" or "split"?
"split" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,399 in our German list, against #22,511 for "Spalt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Spalt" and "split" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Spalt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "split" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,465,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spalt" and "split" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spalt vs Späth". 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 #1,465,380 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list