Which to use
“spenden” and “sprengen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,154
- “spenden” frequency rank
- #13,028
- “sprengen” frequency rank
- 16182
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spenden | sprengen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas für einen guten Zweck verschenken, eine Spende geben, positive Gefühle und Wertung austeilen | etwas mit Hilfe von explosivem Material zerstören |
Where the eye mixes spenden and sprengen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. spenden runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against sprengen's 8 (CCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between spenden and sprengen
A purely visual mix-up. spenden ([ˈʃpɛndn̩]) and sprengen ([ˈʃpʁɛŋən]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16182, 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]. sprengen is at rank #13,028, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpʁɛŋən].
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 16182, this pair ranks #1,937,902 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spenden vs sprengen
Shared letters: enps. Private to "spenden": d. Private to "sprengen": gr.
"spenden" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "sprengen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "spenden" and "sprengen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "spenden" or "sprengen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "spenden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sprengen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,937,902 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spenden" and "sprengen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sprengen vs sprengte". 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 #1,937,902 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.