Which to use
“spanne” is a verb and “Spinne” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,946
- “spanne” frequency rank
- #13,945
- “Spinne” frequency rank
- 41891
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spanne | Spinne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spannen | kleines achtbeiniges Tier, das häufig Fäden spinnt |
Where the eye mixes spanne and Spinne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between spanne and Spinne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spanne is [ˈʃpanə] while Spinne is [ˈʃpɪnə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “spanne” becomes i in “Spinne”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41891, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spanne is recorded at frequency rank #27,946, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpanə]. Spinne is at rank #13,945, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɪnə].
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 41891, this pair ranks #1,465,959 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spanne vs Spinne
Shared letters: enps. Private to "spanne": a. Private to "Spinne": i.
"spanne" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "Spinne" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "spanne" and "Spinne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "spanne" vs "Spinne" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "spanne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Spinne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,465,959 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spanne" and "Spinne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spanne vs staune". 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 #1,465,959 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.