spätesvsSpatzTell them apart

Quick tell: spätes is a adjective, Spatz is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“spätes” is an adjective and “Spatz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,144
“spätes” frequency rank
#27,947
“Spatz” frequency rank
70091
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spätes Spatz
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs spät der Sperling (Passer), ein körnerfressender Singvogel, speziell der Haussperling

Where the eye mixes spätes and Spatz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. spätes runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against Spatz's 5 (CCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
spätes
5 ch
Spatz

Visual trap between spätes and Spatz

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spätes is [ˈʃpɛːtəs] while Spatz is [ʃpat͡s]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70091, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spätes is recorded at frequency rank #42,144, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃpɛːtəs]. Spatz is at rank #27,947, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃpat͡s].

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 70091, this pair ranks #456,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of spätes vs Spatz

Shared letters: pst. Private to "spätes": eä. Private to "Spatz": az.

"spätes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "Spatz" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spatz ← psatz · saptz · spattz · spatzz · spazt · sppatz · sptaz · sspatz

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spätes" and "Spatz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spätes" is an adjective and "Spatz" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "spätes" vs "Spatz" - which ranks higher?
"Spatz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,947 in our German list, against #42,144 for "spätes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "spätes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spatz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #456,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "spätes" and "Spatz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spätes vs Späth". 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 #456,713 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list