Which to use
“Spitze” and “Spitzel” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,570
- “Spitze” frequency rank
- #30,776
- “Spitzel” frequency rank
- 32346
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Spitze | Spitzel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der oberste, schmal zulaufende Teil eines Gegenstandes oder einer Formation | jemand, der in fremdem Auftrag insgeheim herumspioniert |
Where the eye mixes Spitze and Spitzel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Spitze runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against Spitzel's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Spitze with Spitzel
A purely visual mix-up. Spitze ([ˈʃpɪt͡sə]) and Spitzel ([ˈʃpɪt͡sl̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Spitze” sits inside “Spitzel”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32346, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Spitze is recorded at frequency rank #1,570, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɪt͡sə]. Spitzel is at rank #30,776, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɪt͡sl̩].
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 32346, this pair ranks #1,709,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Spitze vs Spitzel
Shared letters: eipstz. Private to "Spitze": -. Private to "Spitzel": l.
"Spitze" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "Spitzel" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Spitze" for "Spitzel" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Spitze" vs "Spitzel" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Spitze" and "Spitzel" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Spitze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Spitzel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,709,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Spitze" and "Spitzel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spitzel vs Spritzer". 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 #1,709,596 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.