Which to use
“speed” is a noun and “Spree” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,818
- “speed” frequency rank
- #12,175
- “Spree” frequency rank
- 19993
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | speed | Spree |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Verhältnis von zurückgelegter Strecke zur dafür benötigten Zeit; Geschwindigkeit | ein Fluss in Deutschland |
Where the eye mixes speed and Spree
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses speed with Spree
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: speed is [spiːd] while Spree is [ˈʃpʁeː]. 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 (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
speed is recorded at frequency rank #7,818, classified as anoun, pronounced [spiːd]. Spree is at rank #12,175, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈʃpʁeː].
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 19993, this pair ranks #1,902,420 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of speed vs Spree
Shared letters: eps. Private to "speed": d. Private to "Spree": r.
"speed" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "Spree" · 5 letters · shape CCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "speed" and "Spree" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "speed" or "Spree"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "speed" and "Spree" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "speed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Spree" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,902,420 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "speed" and "Spree" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sire vs Spree". 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 #1,902,420 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.