SpielervsSpielereiConfusable pair

Which to use

“Spieler” and “Spielerei” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#758
“Spieler” frequency rank
#37,792
“Spielerei” frequency rank
38550
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spieler Spielerei
Definition jemand, der in einem Ballsport gegen einen anderen oder eine andere Mannschaft antritt; des Weiteren jemand, der an einem Brett-, Würfel-, Kartenspiel oder einem ähnlichen Gesellschaftsspiel teilnimmt anhaltendes Spielen

Where the eye mixes Spieler and Spielerei

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Spieler runs 7 letters (CCVVCVC) against Spielerei's 9 (CCVVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Spieler
9 ch
Spielerei

Visual trap between Spieler and Spielerei

A purely visual mix-up. Spieler ([ˈʃpiːlɐ]) and Spielerei ([ʃpiːləˈʁaɪ̯]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Spieler” sits inside “Spielerei”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38550, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spieler is recorded at frequency rank #758, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpiːlɐ]. Spielerei is at rank #37,792, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃpiːləˈʁaɪ̯].

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 38550, this pair ranks #1,560,968 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spieler vs Spielerei

Shared letters: eilprs. Private to "Spieler": -. Private to "Spielerei": -.

"Spieler" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC  ·  "Spielerei" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spieler ← psieler · sipeler · speiler · spieelr · spielerr · spieller · spielre · spileer
  • Spielerei ← psielerei · sipelerei · speilerei · spieelrei · spieleeri · spielerie · spielerrei · spiellerei

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Spieler" and "Spielerei" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpiːlɐ] versus [ʃpiːləˈʁaɪ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Spieler" vs "Spielerei" - which ranks higher?
"Spieler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #758 in our German list, against #37,792 for "Spielerei". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "Spieler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spielerei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,560,968 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spieler" and "Spielerei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spielerei vs Spinnerei". 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 #1,560,968 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list