Which to use
“safe” and “são” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,848
- “safe” frequency rank
- #20,080
- “são” frequency rank
- 26928
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | safe | são |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vor Gefahren geschützt | gesund |
Where the eye mixes safe and são
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: safe vs são
A purely visual mix-up. safe ([sɛɪ̯f]) and são ([sɐ̃w]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26928, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
safe is recorded at frequency rank #6,848, classified as anadj, pronounced [sɛɪ̯f]. são is at rank #20,080, tagged as anadj, pronounced [sɐ̃w].
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 26928, this pair ranks #1,810,078 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of safe vs são
Shared letters: s. Private to "safe": aef. Private to "são": oã.
"safe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "são" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- safe ← asfe · saef · saffe · sfae · ssafe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "safe" for "são" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "safe" or "são" show up more?
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 "safe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "são" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,810,078 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "safe" and "são" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "são vs seg". 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 #1,810,078 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.