Which to use
“Spange” is a noun and “späte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,830
- “Spange” frequency rank
- #11,757
- “späte” frequency rank
- 54587
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Spange | späte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gegenstand aus festem Material, um etwas damit zu fixieren/festzustellen, der zugleich oft auch als Schmuck dient | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs spät |
Where the eye mixes Spange and späte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Spange runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against späte's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Spange vs späte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Spange is [ˈʃpaŋə] while späte is [ˈʃpɛːtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54587, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Spange is recorded at frequency rank #42,830, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpaŋə]. späte is at rank #11,757, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃpɛːtə].
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 54587, this pair ranks #1,012,994 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Spange vs späte
Shared letters: eps. Private to "Spange": agn. Private to "späte": tä.
"Spange" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "späte" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Spange ← psange · sapnge · spagne · spaneg · spangge · spannge · spnage · sppange
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Spange" and "späte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Spange" vs "späte" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Spange" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "späte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,012,994 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Spange" and "späte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spange vs Spässe". 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 #1,012,994 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.