spitzvsSpitzenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: spitz is a adjective, Spitzen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#13,699
“spitz” frequency rank
#6,595
“Spitzen” frequency rank
20294
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spitz Spitzen
Definition schmaler und dünner werdend und in einem Punkt endend; in einer Spitze endend Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Spitze

Where the eye mixes spitz and Spitzen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
spitz
7 ch
Spitzen

Visual trap between spitz and Spitzen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spitz is [ʃpɪt͡s] while Spitzen is [ˈʃpɪt͡sn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “spitz” sits inside “Spitzen”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spitz is recorded at frequency rank #13,699, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃpɪt͡s]. Spitzen is at rank #6,595, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɪt͡sn̩].

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 20294, this pair ranks #1,899,253 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of spitz vs Spitzen

Shared letters: ipstz. Private to "spitz": -. Private to "Spitzen": en.

"spitz" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Spitzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • spitzpsitz · siptz · spittz · spitzz · spizt · sppitz · sptiz · sspitz
  • Spitzenpsitzen · siptzen · spitezn · spittzen · spitzenn · spitzne · spitzzen · spizten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "spitz" and "Spitzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spitz" is an adjective and "Spitzen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "spitz" vs "Spitzen" - which ranks higher?
"Spitzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,595 in our German list, against #13,699 for "spitz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "spitz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spitzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,899,253 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "spitz" and "Spitzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Späth vs spitz". 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 #1,899,253 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