sparevsspätesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: spare is a verb, spätes is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“spare” is a verb and “spätes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,136
“spare” frequency rank
#42,144
“spätes” frequency rank
59280
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spare spätes
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sparen Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs spät

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
spare
6 ch
spätes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

spare and spätes form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spare is recorded at frequency rank #17,136, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpaːʁə]. spätes is at rank #42,144, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃpɛːtəs].

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 59280, this pair ranks #830,416 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

spare#17,136
spätes#42,144

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spare" and "spätes" be used interchangeably?
No, "spare" and "spätes" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering spare vs spätes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “spare”; for an adjective, it's “spätes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “spare” 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