SpitzevsSpitzenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,570
“Spitze” frequency rank
#6,595
“Spitzen” frequency rank
8165
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spitze Spitzen
Definition der oberste, schmal zulaufende Teil eines Gegenstandes oder einer Formation Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Spitze

Where the eye mixes Spitze and Spitzen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Spitze
7 ch
Spitzen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Spitze ([ˈʃpɪt͡sə]) and Spitzen ([ˈʃpɪt͡sn̩]) 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 “Spitzen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8165, 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]. 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 8165, this pair ranks #1,985,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spitze vs Spitzen

Shared letters: eipstz. Private to "Spitze": -. Private to "Spitzen": n.

"Spitze" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "Spitzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spitzepsitze · siptze · spitez · spittze · spitzze · spizte · sppitze · sptize
  • Spitzenpsitzen · siptzen · spitezn · spittzen · spitzenn · spitzne · spitzzen · spizten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Spitze" and "Spitzen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpɪt͡sə] versus [ˈʃpɪt͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Spitze" or "Spitzen"?
"Spitze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,570 in our German list, against #6,595 for "Spitzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Spitze" and "Spitzen". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Spitze" 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 #1,985,377 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spitze" and "Spitzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spitze vs spritz". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list