SpassvsSpässeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#524
“Spass” frequency rank
#44,242
“Spässe” frequency rank
44766
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spass Spässe
Definition Spaß Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Spass

Where the eye mixes Spass and Spässe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Spass runs 5 letters (CCVCC) against Spässe's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Spass
6 ch
Spässe

Look-alike desk: Spass vs Spässe

A purely visual mix-up. Spass ([ʃpaːs]) and Spässe ([ˈʃpɛːsə]) 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 44766, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spass is recorded at frequency rank #524, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃpaːs]. 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 44766, this pair ranks #1,375,416 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Spass vs Spässe

Shared letters: ps. Private to "Spass": a. Private to "Spässe": eä.

"Spass" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Spässe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spass ← psass · sapss · spas · spaß · sppass · spsas · sspass

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Spass" for "Spässe" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʃpaːs] versus [ˈʃpɛːsə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Spass" vs "Spässe" - which ranks higher?
"Spass" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #524 in our German list, against #44,242 for "Spässe". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Spass" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spässe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,375,416 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spass" and "Spässe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sparst vs Spässe". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,375,416 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list