Which to use
“Spesen” is a noun and “spielen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,028
- “Spesen” frequency rank
- #341
- “spielen” frequency rank
- 36369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Spesen | spielen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Kosten, die in Ausübung einer beruflichen oder geschäftlichen Tätigkeit entstanden sind | einer zwanglosen komplexen Betätigung nachgehen, bei der der Lustgewinn im Vordergrund steht |
Where the eye mixes Spesen and spielen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Spesen runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against spielen's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Spesen vs spielen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Spesen is [ˈʃpeːzn̩] while spielen is [ˈʃpiːlən]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Spesen is recorded at frequency rank #36,028, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpeːzn̩]. spielen is at rank #341, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpiːlən].
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 36369, this pair ranks #1,617,360 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Spesen vs spielen
Shared letters: enps. Private to "Spesen": -. Private to "spielen": il.
"Spesen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "spielen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Spesen" for "spielen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Spesen" vs "spielen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Spesen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spielen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,617,360 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Spesen" and "spielen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spesen vs Stelen". 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 #1,617,360 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.