Which to use
“spät” is an adjective and “Star” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,335
- “spät” frequency rank
- #1,571
- “Star” frequency rank
- 2906
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spät | Star |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zeitlich fortgeschritten, kurz vor Schluss, gegen Ende | ein Singvogel der gleichnamigen Familie |
Where the eye mixes spät and Star
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses spät with Star
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spät is [ʃpɛːt] while Star is [ʃtaːɐ̯]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2906, 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]. Star is at rank #1,571, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃtaːɐ̯].
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 2906, this pair ranks #2,001,343 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spät vs Star
Shared letters: st. Private to "spät": pä. Private to "Star": ar.
"spät" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "Star" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Star ← satr · sstar · stra · sttar · tsar
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "spät" and "Star" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "spät" or "Star"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "spät" and "Star" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "spät" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Star" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,001,343 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spät" and "Star" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sonar vs Star". 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 #2,001,343 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.