Which to use
“Spesen” is a noun and “spülen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,028
- “Spesen” frequency rank
- #18,072
- “spülen” frequency rank
- 54100
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Spesen | spülen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Kosten, die in Ausübung einer beruflichen oder geschäftlichen Tätigkeit entstanden sind | etwas mit Wasser oder anderer Flüssigkeit waschen |
Where the eye mixes Spesen and spülen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Spesen and spülen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Spesen with spülen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Spesen is [ˈʃpeːzn̩] while spülen is [ˈʃpyːlən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54100, 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]. spülen is at rank #18,072, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpyːlən].
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 54100, this pair ranks #1,032,111 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Spesen vs spülen
Shared letters: enps. Private to "Spesen": -. Private to "spülen": lü.
"Spesen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "spülen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Spesen ← psesen · sepsen · speesn · spesenn · spesne · spessen · sppesen · spseen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Spesen" and "spülen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Spesen" or "spülen"?
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 "spülen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,032,111 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Spesen" and "spülen" 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 #1,032,111 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.