Which to use
“späte” and “spätere” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,757
- “späte” frequency rank
- #5,314
- “spätere” frequency rank
- 17071
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | späte | spätere |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs spät | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs spät |
Where the eye mixes späte and spätere
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. späte runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against spätere's 7 (CCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between späte and spätere
A purely visual mix-up. späte ([ˈʃpɛːtə]) and spätere ([ˈʃpɛːtəʁə]) 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) - “späte” sits inside “spätere”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17071, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
späte is recorded at frequency rank #11,757, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃpɛːtə]. spätere is at rank #5,314, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃpɛːtəʁə].
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 17071, this pair ranks #1,930,605 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of späte vs spätere
Shared letters: epstä. Private to "späte": -. Private to "spätere": r.
"späte" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "spätere" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "späte" for "spätere" ever safe?
Frequency check: "späte" vs "spätere" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "späte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spätere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,930,605 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "späte" and "spätere" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "späte vs Späth". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,930,605 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.