Which to use
“spenden” and “spinnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,154
- “spenden” frequency rank
- #10,368
- “spinnen” frequency rank
- 13522
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spenden | spinnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas für einen guten Zweck verschenken, eine Spende geben, positive Gefühle und Wertung austeilen | einen Faden herstellen, Erstellung von Garn aus einzelnen Fasern |
Where the eye mixes spenden and spinnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. spenden and spinnen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between spenden and spinnen
A purely visual mix-up. spenden ([ˈʃpɛndn̩]) and spinnen ([ˈʃpɪnən]) 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 13522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spenden is recorded at frequency rank #3,154, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpɛndn̩]. spinnen is at rank #10,368, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpɪnən].
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 13522, this pair ranks #1,957,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spenden vs spinnen
Shared letters: enps. Private to "spenden": d. Private to "spinnen": i.
"spenden" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "spinnen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "spenden" and "spinnen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "spenden" or "spinnen" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "spenden" and "spinnen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "spenden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spinnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,957,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spenden" and "spinnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spenden vs Spendern". 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 #1,957,460 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.