Which to use
“sagen” and “sähe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #193
- “sagen” frequency rank
- #13,704
- “sähe” frequency rank
- 13897
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sagen | sähe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bestimmte Worte sprechen (mit direkter oder indirekter Rede verwendet) | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sehen |
Where the eye mixes sagen and sähe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sagen with sähe
A purely visual mix-up. sagen ([ˈzaːɡn̩]) and sähe ([ˈzɛːə]) 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 13897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sagen is recorded at frequency rank #193, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzaːɡn̩]. sähe is at rank #13,704, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɛːə].
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 13897, this pair ranks #1,954,936 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sagen vs sähe
Shared letters: es. Private to "sagen": agn. Private to "sähe": hä.
"sagen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "sähe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sagen ← asgen · saegn · sagenn · saggen · sagne · sgaen · ssagen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sagen" for "sähe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sagen" vs "sähe" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sähe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,954,936 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sagen" and "sähe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sähe vs Sire". 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 #1,954,936 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.