spielsvsspielteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,427
“spiels” frequency rank
#1,825
“spielte” frequency rank
7252
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spiels spielte
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spiel 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs spielen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set spiels and spielte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
spiels
7 ch
spielte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

spiels and spielte are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7252, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spiels is recorded at frequency rank #5,427, classified as averb, pronounced […]. 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 7252, this pair ranks #1,988,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of spiels vs spielte

Shared letters: eilps. Private to "spiels": -. Private to "spielte": t.

"spiels" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC  ·  "spielte" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • spielspsiels · sipels · speils · spiells · spielss · spiesl · spiles · sppiels
  • spieltepsielte · sipelte · speilte · spielet · spiellte · spieltte · spietle · spilete

Frequency comparison

spiels#5,427
spielte#1,825

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spiels" and "spielte" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "spiels" or "spielte"?
"spielte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,825 in our German list, against #5,427 for "spiels". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering spiels vs spielte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “spiels” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list