spitztvsspritzteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,377
“spitzt” frequency rank
#36,033
“spritzte” frequency rank
70410
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spitzt spritzte
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spitzen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs spritzen

Where the eye mixes spitzt and spritzte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. spitzt runs 6 letters (CCVCCC) against spritzte's 8 (CCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
spitzt
8 ch
spritzte

Look-alike desk: spitzt vs spritzte

A purely visual mix-up. spitzt ([ʃpɪt͡st]) and spritzte ([ˈʃpʁɪt͡stə]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spitzt is recorded at frequency rank #34,377, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃpɪt͡st]. spritzte is at rank #36,033, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpʁɪt͡stə].

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 70410, this pair ranks #447,223 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of spitzt vs spritzte

Shared letters: ipstz. Private to "spitzt": -. Private to "spritzte": er.

"spitzt" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC  ·  "spritzte" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • spitzt ← psitzt · siptzt · spittzt · spitztt · spitzzt · spiztt · sppitzt · sptizt
  • spritzte ← psritzte · spirtzte · sppritzte · sprittzte · spritzet · spritztte · spritzzte · spriztte

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "spitzt" and "spritzte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʃpɪt͡st] versus [ˈʃpʁɪt͡stə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "spitzt" vs "spritzte" - which ranks higher?
"spitzt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,377 in our German list, against #36,033 for "spritzte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "spitzt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "spritzte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #447,223 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "spitzt" and "spritzte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spritz vs spritzte". 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 #447,223 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