Which to use
“Spieler” is a noun and “spielte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #758
- “Spieler” frequency rank
- #1,825
- “spielte” frequency rank
- 2583
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Spieler | spielte |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs spielen |
Where the eye mixes Spieler and spielte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Spieler vs spielte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Spieler is [ˈʃpiːlɐ] while spielte is [ˈʃpiːltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Spieler is recorded at frequency rank #758, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpiːlɐ]. 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 2583, this pair ranks #2,002,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Spieler vs spielte
Shared letters: eilps. Private to "Spieler": r. Private to "spielte": t.
"Spieler" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "spielte" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Spieler" for "spielte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Spieler" or "spielte"?
What to do next
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 "spielte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,002,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Spieler" and "spielte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spielart vs Spieler". 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 #2,002,029 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.