SpiegelvsSpiegelsConfusable pair

Which to use

“Spiegel” and “Spiegels” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,569
“Spiegel” frequency rank
#40,852
“Spiegels” frequency rank
42421
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spiegel Spiegels
Definition polierte Glas- oder Metallfläche, die Lichtstrahlen spiegelt oder reflektiert Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Spiegel

Where the eye mixes Spiegel and Spiegels

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Spiegel runs 7 letters (CCVVCVC) against Spiegels's 8 (CCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Spiegel
8 ch
Spiegels

Look-alike desk: Spiegel vs Spiegels

A purely visual mix-up. Spiegel ([ˈʃpiːɡl̩]) and Spiegels ([ˈʃpiːɡl̩s]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Spiegel” sits inside “Spiegels”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42421, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spiegel is recorded at frequency rank #1,569, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpiːɡl̩]. Spiegels is at rank #40,852, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpiːɡl̩s].

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 42421, this pair ranks #1,449,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Spiegel vs Spiegels

Shared letters: egilps. Private to "Spiegel": -. Private to "Spiegels": -.

"Spiegel" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "Spiegels" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spiegel ← psiegel · sipegel · speigel · spieegl · spiegell · spieggel · spiegle · spigeel
  • Spiegels ← psiegels · sipegels · speigels · spieegls · spiegells · spiegelss · spiegesl · spieggels

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Spiegel" for "Spiegels" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpiːɡl̩] versus [ˈʃpiːɡl̩s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Spiegel" vs "Spiegels" - which ranks higher?
"Spiegel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,569 in our German list, against #40,852 for "Spiegels". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Spiegel" and "Spiegels" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Spiegel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spiegels" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,449,810 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spiegel" and "Spiegels" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Siegers vs Spiegels". 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 #1,449,810 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list