sprechenvsSprechersWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: sprechen is a verb, Sprechers is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sprechen” is a verb and “Sprechers” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#653
“sprechen” frequency rank
#34,378
“Sprechers” frequency rank
35031
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sprechen Sprechers
Definition mündliche Äußerungen in Form von Lauten, Wörtern und/oder Sätzen von sich geben Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Sprecher

Where the eye mixes sprechen and Sprechers

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. sprechen runs 8 letters (CCCVCCVC) against Sprechers's 9 (CCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
sprechen
9 ch
Sprechers

Why the eye confuses sprechen with Sprechers

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sprechen is [ˈʃpʁɛçn̩] while Sprechers is [ˈʃpʁɛçɐs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sprechen is recorded at frequency rank #653, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpʁɛçn̩]. Sprechers is at rank #34,378, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpʁɛçɐs].

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 35031, this pair ranks #1,649,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sprechen vs Sprechers

Shared letters: cehprs. Private to "sprechen": n. Private to "Sprechers": -.

"sprechen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Sprechers" · 9 letters · shape CCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sprechen ← psrechen · sperchen · spprechen · sprcehen · sprecchen · sprecehn · sprechenn · sprechhen
  • Sprechers ← psrechers · sperchers · spprechers · sprcehers · sprecchers · sprecehrs · sprecherrs · sprecherss

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sprechen" for "Sprechers" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sprechen" is a verb and "Sprechers" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sprechen" or "Sprechers"?
"sprechen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #653 in our German list, against #34,378 for "Sprechers". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "sprechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sprechers" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,649,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sprechen" and "Sprechers" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sprechern vs Sprechers". 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 #1,649,669 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