spielen

[ˈʃpiːlən]

/[ˈʃpiːlən]/ verb

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

The verdict

“spielen” has 10 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #341. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#341
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - einer zwanglosen komplexen Betätigung nachgehen, bei der der Lustgewinn im Vordergrund steht

Corpus desk

Index DE-spielen · spielen · German

spielen · rank #341 · 10 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #341
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH kleine

Nearest frequency peer: kleine (-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 “spielen”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “spielen” 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).

spielen vs spielt
71% similar
spielen vs spiels
71% similar
spielen vs spülen
71% similar

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

Key facts for spielen
PropertyValue
Headwordspielen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈʃpiːlən]
Letters7
Frequency rank#341
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “spielen” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).spielenliegt hier:

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „kleine“ (#340), „weniger“ (#342), „gesehen“ (#339). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around spielen (IPA [ˈʃpiːlən]), averb. Corpus frequency is #341 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for spielen, with forms such as "psielen", "sipelen", and "speilen". 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, "spielt", "spiels", "spülen", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, 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 spielen, spelled S-P-I-E-L-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    einer zwanglosen komplexen Betätigung nachgehen, bei der der Lustgewinn im Vordergrund steht
  2. 2
    ein Musikinstrument benutzen
  3. 3
    eine Darbietung zur Unterhaltung anderer geben
  4. 4
    einen Sport ausüben, bei dem Objekte hin und her (meist nach Regeln) bewegt werden (Ball, Federball, Schachfiguren oder Ähnliches)
  5. 5
    so tun, als ob es wahr wäre, in eine bestimmte Rolle schlüpfen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Kinder lernen am besten spielend.
  2. „Der Gleitschirmflieger spielt mit den technischen Möglichkeiten seines Fluggeräts und mit seinen Fertigkeiten: […] Er spielt mit den Leinen, den Bremsen, den Kräften des Windes in seinem Gleitschirm.“

Synonyms

daddelnzockenklimpernaufführendarbietenvorgeben

Antonyms

arbeiten

This word in other languages

play(English)jugar(Español)jouer(Français)jogar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psielen
  • sipelen
  • speilen
  • spieeln
  • spielenn
  • spiellen
  • spielne
  • spileen
  • sppielen
  • sspielen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spielen - 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.

psielen2sipelen2speilen2spieeln2spielenn1spiellen1spielne2spileen2
Edit distance from "spielen"

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 "spielen"?
"spielen" is spelled S-P-I-E-L-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʃpiːlən].
What does "spielen" mean?
As a verb, "spielen" means: einer zwanglosen komplexen Betätigung nachgehen, bei der der Lustgewinn im Vordergrund steht
What words are commonly confused with "spielen"?
"spielen" is commonly confused with "spielt", "spiels", "spülen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spielen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spielen" is [ˈʃpiːlən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "spielen" come from?
"spielen" 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 "spielen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

weniger#342gesehen#339Familie#344sollten#347

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

bekommen10 variantsdarüber10 variantsgewesen10 variantsMinuten10 variants

What to do next

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

  • "spielen" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "spielt". View pair
  • 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #341 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