SpaniervsSpinnerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,975
“Spanier” frequency rank
#9,097
“Spinner” frequency rank
16072
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spanier Spinner
Definition Bürger von Spanien Person, die das Spinnen betreibt, in einer Spinnerei arbeitet, Garn herstellt

Where the eye mixes Spanier and Spinner

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Spanier
7 ch
Spinner

Look-alike desk: Spanier vs Spinner

A purely visual mix-up. Spanier ([ˈʃpaːni̯ɐ]) and Spinner ([ˈʃpɪnɐ]) 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 16072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spanier is recorded at frequency rank #6,975, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpaːni̯ɐ]. Spinner is at rank #9,097, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɪnɐ].

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 16072, this pair ranks #1,938,833 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spanier vs Spinner

Shared letters: einprs. Private to "Spanier": a. Private to "Spinner": -.

"Spanier" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC  ·  "Spinner" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spanierpsanier · sapnier · spainer · spaneir · spanierr · spanire · spannier · spnaier
  • Spinnerpsinner · sipnner · spinenr · spiner · spinnerr · spinnre · spniner · sppinner

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Spanier" for "Spinner" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpaːni̯ɐ] versus [ˈʃpɪnɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Spanier" vs "Spinner" - which ranks higher?
"Spanier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,975 in our German list, against #9,097 for "Spinner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Spanier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spinner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,938,833 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spanier" and "Spinner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spinner vs Spinnerei". 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 #1,938,833 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