Which to use
“sperren” and “spüren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,531
- “sperren” frequency rank
- #3,400
- “spüren” frequency rank
- 10931
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sperren | spüren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Zugang zu einem Gebiet oder Gebäude oder System verhindern | etwas körperlich, mit dem Tastsinn wahrnehmen |
Where the eye mixes sperren and spüren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sperren with spüren
A purely visual mix-up. sperren ([ˈʃpɛʁən]) and spüren ([ˈʃpyːʁən]) 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 10931, 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]. spüren is at rank #3,400, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpyːʁən].
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 10931, this pair ranks #1,972,573 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sperren vs spüren
Shared letters: enprs. Private to "sperren": -. Private to "spüren": ü.
"sperren" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "spüren" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sperren ← pserren · seprren · speren · sperern · sperrenn · sperrne · spperren · spreren
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sperren" for "spüren" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sperren" vs "spüren" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "sperren" and "spüren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sperren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spüren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,972,573 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sperren" and "spüren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spüren vs Stuten". 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 #1,972,573 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.