SpitzevsSpitzerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,570
“Spitze” frequency rank
#25,321
“Spitzer” frequency rank
26891
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Spitze Spitzer
Definition der oberste, schmal zulaufende Teil eines Gegenstandes oder einer Formation Gerät zum Anspitzen von Bleistiften aus Holz

Where the eye mixes Spitze and Spitzer

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

6 ch
Spitze
7 ch
Spitzer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Spitze ([ˈʃpɪt͡sə]) and Spitzer ([ˈʃpɪt͡sɐ]) 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 “Spitzer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26891, 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]. Spitzer is at rank #25,321, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpɪt͡sɐ].

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 26891, this pair ranks #1,810,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Spitze vs Spitzer

Shared letters: eipstz. Private to "Spitze": -. Private to "Spitzer": r.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Spitzepsitze · siptze · spitez · spittze · spitzze · spizte · sppitze · sptize
  • Spitzerpsitzer · siptzer · spitezr · spittzer · spitzerr · spitzre · spitzzer · spizter

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Spitze" and "Spitzer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʃpɪt͡sə] versus [ˈʃpɪt͡sɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Spitze" or "Spitzer"?
"Spitze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,570 in our German list, against #25,321 for "Spitzer". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Spitze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spitzer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,810,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Spitze" and "Spitzer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Spitäler vs Spitzer". 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