Spanner
[ˈʃpanɐ]
The verdict
“Spanner” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #35,454 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #35,454
- frequency rank, German
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 19
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - jemand, der heimlich andere Personen beobachtet
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Spanner |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈʃpanɐ] |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #35,454 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 19 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Spanner” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Spanner is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʃpanɐ]. Corpus data places it at rank #35,454 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Spanner, with forms such as "psanner", "sapnner", and "spanenr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "später", "Spinne", "Sparer", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is Spanner, spelled S-P-A-N-N-E-R.
Definition
- 1jemand, der heimlich andere Personen beobachtet
- 2Werkzeug, das dazu dient, Schuhe in ihrer ursprünglichen Form zu halten
- 3Werkzeug, das zum Spannen der Saiten eines Schlägers für Rückschlagsportarten dient (zum Beispiel eines Tennisschlägers)
- 4ein federbelastetes Laufrad, das zur Gangschaltung von Rennrädern im Radsport gehört und für eine konstante Spannung der Kette sorgt
- 5Mitglied der Spanner, einer der größten Familien der Schmetterlinge mit circa 26.000 Arten
- 6Bauteil für Spannaufgaben
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: psanner,sapnner,spanenr,spaner,spannerr,spannre,spnaner,sppanner,sspanner
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Spanner - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "Spanner"?
What does "Spanner" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Spanner"?
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Using “Spanner”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is S-P-A-N-N-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈʃpanɐ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “später” - see the side-by-side comparison. Spanner vs später
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.