Which to use
“spielen” and “spielt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #341
- “spielen” frequency rank
- #652
- “spielt” frequency rank
- 993
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spielen | spielt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einer zwanglosen komplexen Betätigung nachgehen, bei der der Lustgewinn im Vordergrund steht | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spielen |
Where the eye mixes spielen and spielt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses spielen with spielt
A purely visual mix-up. spielen ([ˈʃpiːlən]) and spielt ([ʃpiːlt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spielen is recorded at frequency rank #341, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpiːlən]. spielt is at rank #652, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpiːlt].
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 993, this pair ranks #2,005,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spielen vs spielt
Shared letters: eilps. Private to "spielen": n. Private to "spielt": t.
"spielen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "spielt" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "spielen" and "spielt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "spielen" or "spielt" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "spielen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spielt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,005,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spielen" and "spielt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spielen vs Stilen". 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 #2,005,053 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.