sparvsspüreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,942
“spar” frequency rank
#11,758
“spüre” frequency rank
22700
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spar spüre
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sparen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spüren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spar and spüre apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
spar
5 ch
spüre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. spar ([ʃpaːɐ̯]) and spüre ([ˈʃpyːʁə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22700, 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]. spüre is at rank #11,758, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpyːʁə].

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 22700, this pair ranks #1,870,870 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of spar vs spüre

Shared letters: prs. Private to "spar": a. Private to "spüre": .

"spar" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "spüre" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sparpsar · sapr · sparr · sppar · spra · sspar

Frequency comparison

spar#10,942
spüre#11,758

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spar" and "spüre" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃpaːɐ̯] versus [ˈʃpyːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "spar" or "spüre"?
"spar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,942 in our German list, against #11,758 for "spüre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering spar vs spüre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list