SpionevsstoneWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,932
“Spione” frequency rank
#9,099
“stone” frequency rank
34031
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spione stone
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Spion Stein

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Spione and stone apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Spione
5 ch
stone

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Spione ([ʃpiˈoːnə]) and stone ([stəʊn]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34031, 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]. stone is at rank #9,099, tagged as anoun, pronounced [stəʊn].

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 34031, this pair ranks #1,672,543 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spione vs stone

Shared letters: enos. Private to "Spione": ip. Private to "stone": t.

"Spione" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV  ·  "stone" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spionepsione · sipone · spinoe · spioen · spionne · spoine · sppione · sspione
  • stonesotne · sstone · stnoe · stoen · stonne · sttone · tsone

Frequency comparison

Spione#24,932
stone#9,099

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Spione" and "stone" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʃpiˈoːnə] versus [stəʊn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Spione" or "stone"?
"stone" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,099 in our German list, against #24,932 for "Spione". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Spione vs stone

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 “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