spültvsSyltTell them apart

Quick tell: spült is a verb, Sylt is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“spült” is a verb and “Sylt” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,379
“spült” frequency rank
#17,145
“Sylt” frequency rank
51524
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature spült Sylt
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs spülen zu Deutschland gehörige nordfriesische Insel

Where the eye mixes spült and Sylt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
spült
4 ch
Sylt

Visual trap between spült and Sylt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spült is [ʃpyːlt] while Sylt is [zʏlt]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51524, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

spült is recorded at frequency rank #34,379, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃpyːlt]. Sylt is at rank #17,145, tagged as aname, pronounced [zʏlt].

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 51524, this pair ranks #1,132,189 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of spült vs Sylt

Shared letters: lst. Private to "spült": . Private to "Sylt": y.

"spült" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "Sylt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Syltslyt · ssylt · syllt · syltt · sytl · syylt · yslt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "spült" and "Sylt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "spült" is a verb and "Sylt" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "spült" vs "Sylt" - which ranks higher?
"Sylt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,145 in our German list, against #34,379 for "spült". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "spült" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sylt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,132,189 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "spült" and "Sylt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "skull vs spült". 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 #1,132,189 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