Which to use
“Speer” is a noun and “sperrt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,217
- “Speer” frequency rank
- #16,002
- “sperrt” frequency rank
- 31219
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Speer | sperrt |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sperren |
Where the eye mixes Speer and sperrt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Speer and sperrt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Speer is [ʃpeːɐ̯] while sperrt is [ʃpɛʁt]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31219, 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]. sperrt is at rank #16,002, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpɛʁt].
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 31219, this pair ranks #1,732,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Speer vs sperrt
Shared letters: eprs. Private to "Speer": -. Private to "sperrt": t.
"Speer" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "sperrt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Speer" and "sperrt" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Speer" or "sperrt" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Speer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sperrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,732,458 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Speer" and "sperrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "serra vs sperrt". 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 #1,732,458 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.