spalten vs Ställen, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#10,567
“spalten” frequency rank: #39,054
“Ställen” frequency rank: 49621
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	spalten	Ställen
Definition	mit einem Instrument der Länge nach teilen	Dativ Plural des Substantivs Stall

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

spalten

7 ch

Ställen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spalten is [ˈʃpaltn̩] while Ställen is [ˈʃtɛlən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49621, 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]. Ställen is at rank #39,054, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɛlən].

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 49621, this pair ranks #1,204,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of spalten vs Ställen

Shared letters: elnst. Private to "spalten": ap. Private to "Ställen": ä.

"spalten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "Ställen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

spalten ← psalten · saplten · spaletn · spallten · spaltenn · spaltne · spaltten · spatlen

Frequency comparison

spalten#10,567

Ställen#39,054

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spalten" and "Ställen" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spalten" is a verb and "Ställen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "spalten" or "Ställen"?

"spalten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,567 in our German list, against #39,054 for "Ställen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering spalten vs Ställen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “spalten”; for a noun, it's “Ställen”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “spalten” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable