sagtevsSatzWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sagte is a verb, Satz is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sagte” is a verb and “Satz” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#311
“sagte” frequency rank
#1,022
“Satz” frequency rank
1333
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sagte Satz
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sagen abgeschlossener, nach grammatischen Regeln aufgebauter, sprachlich geäußerter Gedanke; grammatikalische Einheit, bestehend aus einem finiten Verb und allen von diesem Verb verlangten Satzgliedern

Where the eye mixes sagte and Satz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
sagte
4 ch
Satz

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sagte is [ˈzaːktə] while Satz is [zat͡s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1333, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sagte is recorded at frequency rank #311, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzaːktə]. Satz is at rank #1,022, tagged as anoun, pronounced [zat͡s].

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 1333, this pair ranks #2,004,532 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sagte vs Satz

Shared letters: ast. Private to "sagte": eg. Private to "Satz": z.

"sagte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Satz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sagteasgte · saget · saggte · sagtte · satge · sgate · ssagte
  • Satzastz · sattz · satzz · sazt · ssatz · staz

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sagte" and "Satz" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sagte" is a verb and "Satz" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sagte" or "Satz"?
"sagte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #311 in our German list, against #1,022 for "Satz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list