Which to use
“spar” is a verb and “späte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,942
- “spar” frequency rank
- #11,757
- “späte” frequency rank
- 22699
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spar | späte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sparen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs spät |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spar and späte apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spar is [ʃpaːɐ̯] 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22699, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spar is recorded at frequency rank #10,942, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃpaːɐ̯]. 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 22699, this pair ranks #1,870,879 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spar vs späte
Shared letters: ps. Private to "spar": ar. Private to "späte": etä.
"spar" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "späte" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- spar ← psar · sapr · sparr · sppar · spra · sspar
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "spar" and "späte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "spar" or "späte"?
Remembering spar vs späte
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “spar”; for an adjective, it's “späte”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “spar” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable