Which to use
“Spiele” and “Spione” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #651
- “Spiele” frequency rank
- #24,932
- “Spione” frequency rank
- 25583
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Spiele | Spione |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Spiel | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Spion |
Where the eye mixes Spiele and Spione
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Spiele with Spione
A purely visual mix-up. Spiele ([ˈʃpiːlə]) and Spione ([ʃpiˈoːnə]) 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 25583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Spiele is recorded at frequency rank #651, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpiːlə]. Spione is at rank #24,932, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃpiˈoːnə].
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 25583, this pair ranks #1,831,066 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Spiele vs Spione
Shared letters: eips. Private to "Spiele": l. Private to "Spione": no.
"Spiele" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "Spione" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Spiele" and "Spione" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Spiele" vs "Spione" - which ranks higher?
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 "Spiele" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Spione" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,831,066 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Spiele" and "Spione" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spione vs spröde". 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 #1,831,066 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.