spinntvsSpionTell them apart

Quick tell: spinnt is a verb, Spion is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“spinnt” is a verb and “Spion” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,397
“spinnt” frequency rank
#18,070
“Spion” frequency rank
37467
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spinnt Spion
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spinnen ein heimlicher, unerkannter Beobachter, der die gegnerische Seite auszukunden hat

Where the eye mixes spinnt and Spion

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
spinnt
5 ch
Spion

Why the eye confuses spinnt with Spion

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spinnt is [ʃpɪnt] while Spion is [ʃpiˈoːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spinnt is recorded at frequency rank #19,397, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃpɪnt]. Spion is at rank #18,070, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃpiˈoːn].

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 37467, this pair ranks #1,589,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of spinnt vs Spion

Shared letters: inps. Private to "spinnt": t. Private to "Spion": o.

"spinnt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "Spion" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • spinntpsinnt · sipnnt · spinntt · spint · spintn · spnint · sppinnt · sspinnt
  • Spionpsion · sipon · spino · spionn · spoin · sppion · sspion

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spinnt" and "Spion" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spinnt" is a verb and "Spion" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "spinnt" vs "Spion" - which ranks higher?
"Spion" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,070 in our German list, against #19,397 for "spinnt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "spinnt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,589,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "spinnt" and "Spion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spies vs Spion". 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 #1,589,467 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