zugespieltvszugespitztWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,422
“zugespielt” frequency rank
#28,038
“zugespitzt” frequency rank
74460
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zugespielt zugespitzt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs zuspielen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs zuspitzen

Where the eye mixes zugespielt and zugespitzt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. zugespielt (CVCVCCVVCC) and zugespitzt (CVCVCCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

10 ch
zugespielt
10 ch
zugespitzt

Why the eye confuses zugespielt with zugespitzt

A purely visual mix-up. zugespielt ([ˈt͡suːɡəˌʃpiːlt]) and zugespitzt ([ˈt͡suːɡəˌʃpɪt͡st]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74460, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zugespielt is recorded at frequency rank #46,422, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːɡəˌʃpiːlt]. zugespitzt is at rank #28,038, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːɡəˌʃpɪt͡st].

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 74460, this pair ranks #332,911 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of zugespielt vs zugespitzt

Shared letters: egipstuz. Private to "zugespielt": l. Private to "zugespitzt": -.

"zugespielt" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCC  ·  "zugespitzt" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zugespielt ← uzgespielt · zguespielt · zuegspielt · zugepsielt · zugesipelt · zugespeilt · zugespiellt · zugespieltt
  • zugespitzt ← uzgespitzt · zguespitzt · zuegspitzt · zugepsitzt · zugesiptzt · zugespittz · zugespittzt · zugespitztt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "zugespielt" for "zugespitzt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡suːɡəˌʃpiːlt] versus [ˈt͡suːɡəˌʃpɪt͡st]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "zugespielt" vs "zugespitzt" - which ranks higher?
"zugespitzt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,038 in our German list, against #46,422 for "zugespielt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "zugespielt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zugespitzt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #332,911 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zugespielt" and "zugespitzt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zugespitzt vs Zugspitze". 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 #332,911 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