SpaltungvsSpannungWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,266
“Spaltung” frequency rank
#3,544
“Spannung” frequency rank
12810
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spaltung Spannung
Definition Teilung durch Einwirkung (»elektrische Spannung«) die (nutzbare) Potenzialdifferenz zwischen zwei Orten im elektrischen Feld

Where the eye mixes Spaltung and Spannung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Spaltung and Spannung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
Spaltung
8 ch
Spannung

Why the eye confuses Spaltung with Spannung

A purely visual mix-up. Spaltung ([ˈʃpaltʊŋ]) and Spannung ([ˈʃpanʊŋ]) 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 12810, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spaltung is recorded at frequency rank #9,266, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpaltʊŋ]. Spannung is at rank #3,544, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpanʊŋ].

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 12810, this pair ranks #1,961,919 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spaltung vs Spannung

Shared letters: agnpsu. Private to "Spaltung": lt. Private to "Spannung": -.

"Spaltung" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC  ·  "Spannung" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spaltung ← psaltung · sapltung · spalltung · spaltnug · spalttung · spaltugn · spaltungg · spaltunng
  • Spannung ← psannung · sapnnung · spannnug · spannugn · spannungg · spannunng · spanung · spanunng

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Spaltung" and "Spannung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpaltʊŋ] versus [ˈʃpanʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Spaltung" vs "Spannung" - which ranks higher?
"Spannung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,544 in our German list, against #9,266 for "Spaltung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Spaltung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spannung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,961,919 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spaltung" and "Spannung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spaltung vs Spülung". 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 #1,961,919 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