SpionevssprödeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Spione is a noun, spröde is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Spione” is a noun and “spröde” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,932
“Spione” frequency rank
#42,143
“spröde” frequency rank
67075
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spione spröde
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Spion brüchig, leicht reißend

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Spione and spröde apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Spione
6 ch
spröde

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Spione is [ʃpiˈoːnə] while spröde is [ˈʃpʁøːdə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Spione is recorded at frequency rank #24,932, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃpiˈoːnə]. spröde is at rank #42,143, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʃpʁøːdə].

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 67075, this pair ranks #552,060 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Spione vs spröde

Shared letters: eps. Private to "Spione": ino. Private to "spröde": drö.

"Spione" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV  ·  "spröde" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spionepsione · sipone · spinoe · spioen · spionne · spoine · sppione · sspione

Frequency comparison

Spione#24,932
spröde#42,143

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Spione" and "spröde" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Spione" is a noun and "spröde" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Spione" or "spröde"?
"Spione" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,932 in our German list, against #42,143 for "spröde". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Spione vs spröde

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Spione”; for an adjective, it's “spröde”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Spione” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list