Which to use
“spalten” and “spielten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,567
- “spalten” frequency rank
- #4,464
- “spielten” frequency rank
- 15031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spalten | spielten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Instrument der Länge nach teilen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs spielen |
Where the eye mixes spalten and spielten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. spalten runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against spielten's 8 (CCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses spalten with spielten
A purely visual mix-up. spalten ([ˈʃpaltn̩]) and spielten ([ˈʃpiːltn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spalten is recorded at frequency rank #10,567, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpaltn̩]. spielten is at rank #4,464, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpiːltn̩].
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 15031, this pair ranks #1,946,932 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spalten vs spielten
Shared letters: elnpst. Private to "spalten": a. Private to "spielten": i.
"spalten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "spielten" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spalten" for "spielten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "spalten" vs "spielten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "spalten" and "spielten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "spalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spielten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,946,932 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spalten" and "spielten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sälen vs spalten". 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 #1,946,932 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.