spülenvsSpülungTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#18,072
“spülen” frequency rank
#39,039
“Spülung” frequency rank
57111
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spülen Spülung
Definition etwas mit Wasser oder anderer Flüssigkeit waschen Bauteil am WC, das alles aus dem Toilettenbecken in dem Abfluss spült

Where the eye mixes spülen and Spülung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. spülen runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against Spülung's 7 (CCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
spülen
7 ch
Spülung

Visual trap between spülen and Spülung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spülen is [ˈʃpyːlən] while Spülung is [ˈʃpyːlʊŋ]. 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 57111, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spülen is recorded at frequency rank #18,072, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpyːlən]. Spülung is at rank #39,039, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpyːlʊŋ].

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 57111, this pair ranks #914,023 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of spülen vs Spülung

Shared letters: lnpsü. Private to "spülen": e. Private to "Spülung": gu.

"spülen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "Spülung" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "spülen" and "Spülung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spülen" is a verb and "Spülung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "spülen" vs "Spülung" - which ranks higher?
"spülen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,072 in our German list, against #39,039 for "Spülung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "spülen" and "Spülung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "spülen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Spülung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #914,023 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "spülen" and "Spülung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spülen vs Stilen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #914,023 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