sperrenvsSporenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sperren is a verb, Sporen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sperren” is a verb and “Sporen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,531
“sperren” frequency rank
#22,515
“Sporen” frequency rank
30046
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sperren Sporen
Definition den Zugang zu einem Gebiet oder Gebäude oder System verhindern Plural (alle Fälle) des Substantivs Sporn

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sperren and Sporen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
sperren
6 ch
Sporen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sperren is [ˈʃpɛʁən] while Sporen is [ˈʃpoːʁən]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30046, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sperren is recorded at frequency rank #7,531, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpɛʁən]. Sporen is at rank #22,515, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpoːʁən].

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 30046, this pair ranks #1,755,422 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sperren vs Sporen

Shared letters: enprs. Private to "sperren": -. Private to "Sporen": o.

"sperren" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "Sporen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sperrenpserren · seprren · speren · sperern · sperrenn · sperrne · spperren · spreren
  • Sporenpsoren · sopren · spoern · sporenn · sporne · sporren · spporen · sproen

Frequency comparison

sperren#7,531
Sporen#22,515

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sperren" and "Sporen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sperren" is a verb and "Sporen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sperren" or "Sporen"?
"sperren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,531 in our German list, against #22,515 for "Sporen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sperren vs Sporen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “sperren”; for a noun, it's “Sporen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sperren” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list