Which to use
“spät” and “spätes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,335
- “spät” frequency rank
- #42,144
- “spätes” frequency rank
- 43479
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spät | spätes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zeitlich fortgeschritten, kurz vor Schluss, gegen Ende | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs spät |
Where the eye mixes spät and spätes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between spät and spätes
A purely visual mix-up. spät ([ʃpɛːt]) and spätes ([ˈʃpɛːtəs]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “spät” sits inside “spätes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spät is recorded at frequency rank #1,335, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃpɛːt]. 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 43479, this pair ranks #1,416,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spät vs spätes
Shared letters: pstä. Private to "spät": -. Private to "spätes": e.
"spät" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "spätes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "spät" and "spätes" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "spät" or "spätes" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "spät" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spätes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,416,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spät" and "spätes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spätes vs Späth". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,416,773 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.