sparstvsSpässeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#47,008
“sparst” frequency rank
#44,242
“Spässe” frequency rank
91250
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sparst Spässe
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sparen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Spass

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
sparst
6 ch
Spässe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sparst is [ʃpaːɐ̯st] while Spässe is [ˈʃpɛːsə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 91250, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sparst is recorded at frequency rank #47,008, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃpaːɐ̯st]. Spässe is at rank #44,242, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɛːsə].

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 91250, this pair ranks #39,593 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sparst vs Spässe

Shared letters: ps. Private to "sparst": art. Private to "Spässe": .

"sparst" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "Spässe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sparstpsarst · saprst · sparrst · sparsst · sparstt · sparts · spasrt · spparst

Frequency comparison

sparst#47,008
Spässe#44,242

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sparst" and "Spässe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sparst" is a verb and "Spässe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sparst" or "Spässe"?
"Spässe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #44,242 in our German list, against #47,008 for "sparst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sparst vs Spässe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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