SachevsSauceConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#495
“Sache” frequency rank
#11,960
“Sauce” frequency rank
12455
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sache Sauce
Definition einzelner Gegenstand oder eine Gruppe von Dingen, die einer Person oder Angelegenheit zugehörig sind fachsprachlich: alternative Schreibweise von Soße^([1]) beziehungsweise Soß; in Österreich nicht fachsprachliche Hauptschreibweise

Where the eye mixes Sache and Sauce

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Sache (CVCCV) and Sauce (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Sache
5 ch
Sauce

Look-alike desk: Sache vs Sauce

A purely visual mix-up. Sache ([ˈzaxə]) and Sauce ([ˈzoːsə]) 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 12455, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sache is recorded at frequency rank #495, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzaxə]. Sauce is at rank #11,960, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈzoːsə].

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 12455, this pair ranks #1,964,088 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Sache vs Sauce

Shared letters: aces. Private to "Sache": h. Private to "Sauce": u.

"Sache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Sauce" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Sache ← sacche · saceh · sachhe · sahce · scahe · ssache
  • Sauce ← asuce · sacue · saucce · sauec · ssauce · suace

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Sache" and "Sauce" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzaxə] versus [ˈzoːsə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Sache" vs "Sauce" - which ranks higher?
"Sache" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #495 in our German list, against #11,960 for "Sauce". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Sache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sauce" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,964,088 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Sache" and "Sauce" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sake vs Sauce". 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 #1,964,088 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