Which to use
“sprühen” and “spülen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,296
- “sprühen” frequency rank
- #18,072
- “spülen” frequency rank
- 48368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sprühen | spülen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Flüssigkeit sehr fein auf eine Oberfläche auftragen; feine Partikel verteilen | etwas mit Wasser oder anderer Flüssigkeit waschen |
Where the eye mixes sprühen and spülen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sprühen runs 7 letters (CCCVCVC) against spülen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses sprühen with spülen
A purely visual mix-up. sprühen ([ˈʃpʁyːən]) and spülen ([ˈʃpyːlən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sprühen is recorded at frequency rank #30,296, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpʁyːən]. spülen is at rank #18,072, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpyːlən].
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 48368, this pair ranks #1,251,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sprühen vs spülen
Shared letters: enpsü. Private to "sprühen": hr. Private to "spülen": l.
"sprühen" · 7 letters · shape CCCVCVC · "spülen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sprühen" and "spülen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "sprühen" or "spülen"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sprühen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spülen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,251,116 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sprühen" and "spülen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sprühen vs Sprüngen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,251,116 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.