Which to use
“speisen” and “spenden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,989
- “speisen” frequency rank
- #3,154
- “spenden” frequency rank
- 11143
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | speisen | spenden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | essen, Nahrung zu sich nehmen | etwas für einen guten Zweck verschenken, eine Spende geben, positive Gefühle und Wertung austeilen |
Where the eye mixes speisen and spenden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. speisen (CCVVCVC) and spenden (CCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: speisen vs spenden
A purely visual mix-up. speisen ([ˈʃpaɪ̯zn̩]) and spenden ([ˈʃpɛndn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11143, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
speisen is recorded at frequency rank #7,989, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpaɪ̯zn̩]. spenden is at rank #3,154, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpɛndn̩].
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 11143, this pair ranks #1,971,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of speisen vs spenden
Shared letters: enps. Private to "speisen": i. Private to "spenden": d.
"speisen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "spenden" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "speisen" and "spenden" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "speisen" or "spenden"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "speisen" and "spenden" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "speisen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spenden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,971,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "speisen" and "spenden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Speichen vs speisen". 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 #1,971,465 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.