spätes vs spies, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#42,144
“spätes” frequency rank: #43,504
“spies” frequency rank: 85648
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	spätes	spies
Definition	Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs spät	3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs speisen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spätes and spies apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

spätes

5 ch

spies

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spätes is [ˈʃpɛːtəs] while spies is [ʃpiːs]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85648, 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]. spies is at rank #43,504, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpiːs].

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 85648, this pair ranks #105,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of spätes vs spies

Shared letters: eps. Private to "spätes": tä. Private to "spies": i.

"spätes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "spies" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

spies ← psies · sipes · speis · spiess · spise · sppies · sspies

Frequency comparison

spätes#42,144

spies#43,504

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spätes" and "spies" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spätes" is an adjective and "spies" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "spätes" or "spies"?

"spätes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,144 in our German list, against #43,504 for "spies". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering spätes vs spies

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “spätes”; for a verb, it's “spies”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “spätes” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable