Which to use
“sagen” and “seien” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #193
- “sagen” frequency rank
- #782
- “seien” frequency rank
- 975
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sagen | seien |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bestimmte Worte sprechen (mit direkter oder indirekter Rede verwendet) | 1. Person Plural Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sein |
Where the eye mixes sagen and seien
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sagen vs seien
A purely visual mix-up. sagen ([ˈzaːɡn̩]) and seien ([ˈzaɪ̯ən]) 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 975, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sagen is recorded at frequency rank #193, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzaːɡn̩]. seien is at rank #782, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzaɪ̯ən].
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 975, this pair ranks #2,005,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sagen vs seien
Shared letters: ens. Private to "sagen": ag. Private to "seien": i.
"sagen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "seien" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sagen" and "seien" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sagen" vs "seien" - 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 "seien" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,005,079 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sagen" and "seien" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seien vs Stilen". 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 #2,005,079 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.