SpiegelvsSpielesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,569
“Spiegel” frequency rank
#33,830
“Spieles” frequency rank
35399
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes Spiegel and Spieles

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Spiegel and Spieles follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
Spiegel
7 ch
Spieles

Why the eye confuses Spiegel with Spieles

A purely visual mix-up. Spiegel ([ˈʃpiːɡl̩]) and Spieles ([ˈʃpiːləs]) 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 35399, 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]. Spieles is at rank #33,830, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpiːləs].

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 35399, this pair ranks #1,640,954 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spiegel vs Spieles

Shared letters: eilps. Private to "Spiegel": g. Private to "Spieles": -.

"Spiegel" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "Spieles" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spiegel ← psiegel · sipegel · speigel · spieegl · spiegell · spieggel · spiegle · spigeel
  • Spieles ← psieles · sipeles · speiles · spieels · spieless · spielles · spielse · spilees

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Spiegel" and "Spieles" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpiːɡl̩] versus [ˈʃpiːləs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Spiegel" or "Spieles"?
"Spiegel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,569 in our German list, against #33,830 for "Spieles". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Spiegel" and "Spieles" 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 "Spieles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,640,954 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spiegel" and "Spieles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spieles vs Stiles". 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 #1,640,954 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