Which to use
“Spesen” and “Sporen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,028
- “Spesen” frequency rank
- #22,515
- “Sporen” frequency rank
- 58543
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Spesen | Sporen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Kosten, die in Ausübung einer beruflichen oder geschäftlichen Tätigkeit entstanden sind | Plural (alle Fälle) des Substantivs Sporn |
Where the eye mixes Spesen and Sporen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Spesen and Sporen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Spesen and Sporen
A purely visual mix-up. Spesen ([ˈʃpeːzn̩]) and Sporen ([ˈʃpoːʁən]) 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 58543, 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]. 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 58543, this pair ranks #858,724 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Spesen vs Sporen
Shared letters: enps. Private to "Spesen": -. Private to "Sporen": or.
"Spesen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "Sporen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Spesen" and "Sporen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Spesen" or "Sporen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Spesen" and "Sporen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Spesen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Sporen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #858,724 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Spesen" and "Sporen" 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 #858,724 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.