VideospielvsVideospielenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#19,076
“Videospiel” frequency rank
#37,286
“Videospielen” frequency rank
56362
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Videospiel Videospielen
Definition Spiel, das normalerweise auf einer Spielkonsole oder einem Computer läuft und auf einem Fernsehgerät oder Monitor zu sehen ist Dativ Plural des Substantivs Videospiel

Where the eye mixes Videospiel and Videospielen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Videospiel runs 10 letters (CVCVVCCVVC) against Videospielen's 12 (CVCVVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Videospiel
12 ch
Videospielen

Look-alike desk: Videospiel vs Videospielen

A purely visual mix-up. Videospiel ([ˈviːdeoˌʃpiːl]) and Videospielen ([ˈviːdeoˌʃpiːlən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Videospiel” sits inside “Videospielen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56362, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Videospiel is recorded at frequency rank #19,076, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈviːdeoˌʃpiːl]. Videospielen is at rank #37,286, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈviːdeoˌʃpiːlən].

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 56362, this pair ranks #943,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Videospiel vs Videospielen

Shared letters: deilopsv. Private to "Videospiel": -. Private to "Videospielen": n.

"Videospiel" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCVVC  ·  "Videospielen" · 12 letters · shape CVCVVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Videospiel ← ivdeospiel · vdieospiel · viddeospiel · videopsiel · videosipel · videospeil · videospiell · videospile
  • Videospielen ← ivdeospielen · vdieospielen · viddeospielen · videopsielen · videosipelen · videospeilen · videospieeln · videospielenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Videospiel" and "Videospielen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈviːdeoˌʃpiːl] versus [ˈviːdeoˌʃpiːlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Videospiel" or "Videospielen" show up more?
"Videospiel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,076 in our German list, against #37,286 for "Videospielen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Videospiel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Videospielen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #943,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Videospiel" and "Videospielen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Videospiele vs Videospielen". 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 #943,215 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