Which to use
“spät” is an adjective and “spuk” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,335
- “spät” frequency rank
- #27,498
- “spuk” frequency rank
- 28833
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spät | spuk |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zeitlich fortgeschritten, kurz vor Schluss, gegen Ende | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spuken |
Where the eye mixes spät and spuk
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses spät with spuk
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spät is [ʃpɛːt] while spuk is [ʃpuːk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28833, 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]. spuk is at rank #27,498, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpuːk].
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 28833, this pair ranks #1,777,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spät vs spuk
Shared letters: ps. Private to "spät": tä. Private to "spuk": ku.
"spät" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "spuk" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- spuk ← psuk · spku · sppuk · spukk · sspuk · supk
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spät" for "spuk" ever safe?
Which is more common, "spät" or "spuk"?
After this comparison
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 "spuk" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,777,772 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spät" and "spuk" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "shut vs spuk". 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 #1,777,772 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.