Which to use
“spielen” and “spülen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #341
- “spielen” frequency rank
- #18,072
- “spülen” frequency rank
- 18413
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spielen | spülen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einer zwanglosen komplexen Betätigung nachgehen, bei der der Lustgewinn im Vordergrund steht | etwas mit Wasser oder anderer Flüssigkeit waschen |
Where the eye mixes spielen and spülen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. spielen runs 7 letters (CCVVCVC) against spülen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between spielen and spülen
A purely visual mix-up. spielen ([ˈʃpiːlən]) and spülen ([ˈʃpyːlən]) 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 18413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spielen is recorded at frequency rank #341, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpiːlən]. spülen is at rank #18,072, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpyːlən].
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 18413, this pair ranks #1,918,463 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spielen vs spülen
Shared letters: elnps. Private to "spielen": i. Private to "spülen": ü.
"spielen" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "spülen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- spielen ← psielen · sipelen · speilen · spieeln · spielenn · spiellen · spielne · spileen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "spielen" and "spülen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "spielen" or "spülen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "spielen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spülen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,918,463 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spielen" and "spülen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spülen 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 #1,918,463 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.