verspieltvsverspielteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,703
“verspielt” frequency rank
#40,936
“verspielte” frequency rank
55639
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verspielt verspielte
Definition nur spielen wollend, gern spielend; leicht ablenkbar Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs verspielt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verspielt and verspielte apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
verspielt
10 ch
verspielte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verspielt ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːlt]) and verspielte ([ˌfɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːltə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “verspielt” sits inside “verspielte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55639, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verspielt is recorded at frequency rank #14,703, classified as anadj, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːlt]. verspielte is at rank #40,936, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːltə].

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 55639, this pair ranks #971,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verspielt vs verspielte

Shared letters: eilprstv. Private to "verspielt": -. Private to "verspielte": -.

"verspielt" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC  ·  "verspielte" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verspieltevrspielt · verpsielt · verrspielt · versipelt · verspeilt · verspiellt · verspieltt · verspietl
  • verspielteevrspielte · verpsielte · verrspielte · versipelte · verspeilte · verspielet · verspiellte · verspieltte

Frequency comparison

verspielt#14,703
verspielte#40,936

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verspielt" and "verspielte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːlt] versus [ˌfɛɐ̯ˈʃpiːltə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verspielt" or "verspielte"?
"verspielt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,703 in our German list, against #40,936 for "verspielte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verspielt vs verspielte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “verspielt” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list