spannenvsSpartenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: spannen is a verb, Sparten is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#19,042
“spannen” frequency rank
#21,072
“Sparten” frequency rank
40114
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spannen Sparten
Definition etwas mit Kraftaufwand glatt machen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Sparte

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spannen and Sparten apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
spannen
7 ch
Sparten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spannen is [ˈʃpanən] while Sparten is [ˈʃpaʁtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 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 40114, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spannen is recorded at frequency rank #19,042, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpanən]. Sparten is at rank #21,072, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpaʁtn̩].

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 40114, this pair ranks #1,517,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of spannen vs Sparten

Shared letters: aenps. Private to "spannen": -. Private to "Sparten": rt.

"spannen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Sparten" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • spannenpsannen · sapnnen · spanen · spanenn · spannenn · spannne · spnanen · sppannen
  • Spartenpsarten · saprten · sparetn · sparrten · spartenn · spartne · spartten · spatren

Frequency comparison

spannen#19,042
Sparten#21,072

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spannen" and "Sparten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spannen" is a verb and "Sparten" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "spannen" or "Sparten"?
"spannen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,042 in our German list, against #21,072 for "Sparten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering spannen vs Sparten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list