Spiel

[ʃpiːl]

/[ʃpiːl]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Spiel” has 7 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #303. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#303
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tätigkeit ohne Zweck und aus Freude

Corpus desk

Index DE-spiel · Spiel · German

Spiel · rank #303 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #303
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Seite

Nearest frequency peer: Seite (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “Spiel”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Spiel” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Spiel vs Stil
60% similar
Spiel vs Spin
60% similar
Spiel vs stieg
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Spiel
PropertyValue
HeadwordSpiel
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ʃpiːl]
Letters5
Frequency rank#303
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Spiel” sits in German frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Spiel lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around Spiel (IPA [ʃpiːl]), anoun. Corpus frequency is #303 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Spiel, with forms such as "psiel", "sipel", and "speil". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Stil", "Spin", "stieg", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Spiel, spelled S-P-I-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tätigkeit ohne Zweck und aus Freude
  2. 2
    Aufführung mit künstlerischem, religiösem oder sportlichem Charakter
  3. 3
    Betätigen von Musikinstrumenten und Musikwiedergabegeräten, Musizieren
  4. 4
    gefährliches Treiben, nicht öffentliche Absprache
  5. 5
    lebhafte, harmonische Bewegung mehrerer gleichartiger oder zusammengehöriger Teile, Elemente
  6. 6
    freie Beweglichkeit von mechanischen Teilen
  7. 7
    Satz von Karten beziehungsweise Spielfiguren und Spielbrett
  8. 8
    eine abstrakte strategische Situation
  9. 9
    künstlerische Darbietung durch Gestaltung einer Rolle
  10. 10
    Redensart, Wendung
  11. 11
    Tätigkeit mit Zweckausrichtung

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Spiel appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Wir dachten uns immer neue Spiele aus.
  2. „Es gab keine Spiele, Spaziergänge oder Siestas mehr.“

Synonyms

AufführungDarbietungVorführungWettbewerbWettkampfFreizeitbeschäftigungMusizierenZusammenspielSpielraum

Antonyms

ArbeitErnst

This word in other languages

game(English)juego(Español)jeu(Français)jogo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psiel
  • sipel
  • speil
  • spiell
  • spile
  • sppiel
  • sspiel

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Spiel - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

psiel2sipel2speil2spiell1spile2sppiel1sspiel1
Edit distance from "Spiel"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Spiel"?
"Spiel" is spelled S-P-I-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ʃpiːl].
What does "Spiel" mean?
As a noun, "Spiel" means: Tätigkeit ohne Zweck und aus Freude
What words are commonly confused with "Spiel"?
"Spiel" is commonly confused with "Stil", "Spin", "stieg". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Spiel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Spiel" is [ʃpiːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Spiel" come from?
"Spiel" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Spiel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Seite#302wenig#305gerne#300ganze#299

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

wollte7 variantssagte7 variantsjeden7 variantsneben7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "Spiel". Here's where to go from here.

  • "Spiel" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Stil". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #303 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list