Which to use
“spiegeln” is a verb and “Spiegelung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,792
- “spiegeln” frequency rank
- #36,637
- “Spiegelung” frequency rank
- 49429
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spiegeln | Spiegelung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Bild von etwas oder jemandem in einem geeigneten Medium zurückgeben | der Vorgang des Spiegelns |
Where the eye mixes spiegeln and Spiegelung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. spiegeln runs 8 letters (CCVVCVCC) against Spiegelung's 10 (CCVVCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses spiegeln with Spiegelung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spiegeln is [ˈʃpiːɡl̩n] while Spiegelung is [ˈʃpiːɡəlʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spiegeln is recorded at frequency rank #12,792, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpiːɡl̩n]. Spiegelung is at rank #36,637, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpiːɡəlʊŋ].
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 49429, this pair ranks #1,211,847 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spiegeln vs Spiegelung
Shared letters: egilnps. Private to "spiegeln": -. Private to "Spiegelung": u.
"spiegeln" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCC · "Spiegelung" · 10 letters · shape CCVVCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- spiegeln ← psiegeln · sipegeln · speigeln · spieegln · spiegelln · spiegelnn · spiegenl · spieggeln
- Spiegelung ← psiegelung · sipegelung · speigelung · spieeglung · spiegellung · spiegelnug · spiegelugn · spiegelungg
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "spiegeln" and "Spiegelung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "spiegeln" or "Spiegelung" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "spiegeln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Spiegelung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,211,847 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spiegeln" and "Spiegelung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spiegeln vs spiegelte". 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 #1,211,847 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.