Which to use
“spiegelte” and “spielte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,471
- “spiegelte” frequency rank
- #1,825
- “spielte” frequency rank
- 43296
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spiegelte | spielte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs spiegeln | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs spielen |
Where the eye mixes spiegelte and spielte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses spiegelte with spielte
A purely visual mix-up. spiegelte ([ˈʃpiːɡl̩tə]) and spielte ([ˈʃpiːltə]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43296, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spiegelte is recorded at frequency rank #41,471, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpiːɡl̩tə]. spielte is at rank #1,825, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpiːltə].
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 43296, this pair ranks #1,422,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spiegelte vs spielte
Shared letters: eilpst. Private to "spiegelte": g. Private to "spielte": -.
"spiegelte" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCCV · "spielte" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "spiegelte" and "spielte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "spiegelte" or "spielte"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "spiegelte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spielte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,422,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spiegelte" and "spielte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "segelte 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 #1,422,541 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.