Which to use
“Spässe” is a noun and “späte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,242
- “Spässe” frequency rank
- #11,757
- “späte” frequency rank
- 55999
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Spässe | späte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Spass | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs spät |
Where the eye mixes Spässe and späte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Spässe with späte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Spässe is [ˈʃpɛːsə] 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55999, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Spässe is recorded at frequency rank #44,242, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɛːsə]. 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 55999, this pair ranks #957,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Spässe vs späte
Shared letters: epsä. Private to "Spässe": -. Private to "späte": t.
"Spässe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "späte" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Spässe" for "späte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Spässe" or "späte"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Spässe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "späte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #957,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Spässe" and "späte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sparst vs Spässe". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #957,539 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.