WortspielvsWortspieleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,405
“Wortspiel” frequency rank
#39,735
“Wortspiele” frequency rank
65140
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Wortspiel Wortspiele
Definition witziges Spiel mit Worten, z. B. mit deren Mehrdeutigkeit Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Wortspiel

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
Wortspiel
10 ch
Wortspiele

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Wortspiel ([ˈvɔʁtˌʃpiːl]) and Wortspiele ([ˈvɔʁtˌʃpiːlə]) 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) - “Wortspiel” sits inside “Wortspiele”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65140, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Wortspiel is recorded at frequency rank #25,405, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɔʁtˌʃpiːl]. Wortspiele is at rank #39,735, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈvɔʁtˌʃpiːlə].

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 65140, this pair ranks #617,162 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Wortspiel vs Wortspiele

Shared letters: eiloprstw. Private to "Wortspiel": -. Private to "Wortspiele": -.

"Wortspiel" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCCVVC  ·  "Wortspiele" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Wortspielowrtspiel · worrtspiel · worstpiel · wortpsiel · wortsipel · wortspeil · wortspiell · wortspile
  • Wortspieleowrtspiele · worrtspiele · worstpiele · wortpsiele · wortsipele · wortspeile · wortspieel · wortspielle

Frequency comparison

Wortspiel#25,405
Wortspiele#39,735

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Wortspiel" and "Wortspiele" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvɔʁtˌʃpiːl] versus [ˈvɔʁtˌʃpiːlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Wortspiel" or "Wortspiele"?
"Wortspiel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,405 in our German list, against #39,735 for "Wortspiele". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Wortspiel vs Wortspiele

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 “Wortspiel” 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