Which to use
“Speer” and “Sperber” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,217
- “Speer” frequency rank
- #44,234
- “Sperber” frequency rank
- 59451
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Speer | Sperber |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Waffe zum Werfen und Stechen, bestehend aus einer Stange mit einer Spitze (meist aus Metall oder Stein) an einem Ende; leichter als die nur zum Stechen bestimmte Lanze | der kleinste deutsche Greifvogel |
Where the eye mixes Speer and Sperber
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Speer with Sperber
A purely visual mix-up. Speer ([ʃpeːɐ̯]) and Sperber ([ˈʃpɛʁbɐ]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Speer is recorded at frequency rank #15,217, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃpeːɐ̯]. Sperber is at rank #44,234, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɛʁbɐ].
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 59451, this pair ranks #824,047 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Speer vs Sperber
Shared letters: eprs. Private to "Speer": -. Private to "Sperber": b.
"Speer" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "Sperber" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Speer" and "Sperber" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Speer" or "Sperber" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Speer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Sperber" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #824,047 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Speer" and "Sperber" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Serbe vs Sperber". 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 #824,047 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.