sähevssteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,704
“sähe” frequency rank
#25,778
“ste” frequency rank
39482
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sähe ste
Definition 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sehen 2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs biti

Letter map: sähe vs ste

Shared letters muted; letters that set sähe and ste apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
sähe
3 ch
ste

Pair insight - sähe / ste

sähe and ste are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39482, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sähe is recorded at frequency rank #13,704, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɛːə]. ste is at rank #25,778, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 39482, this pair ranks #1,535,564 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sähe vs ste

Shared letters: es. Private to "sähe": . Private to "ste": t.

"sähe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "ste" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sähe" and "ste" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "sähe" vs "ste" - which ranks higher?
"sähe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,704 in our German list, against #25,778 for "ste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "sähe" and "ste".

  • Full dictionary entry for "sähe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,535,564 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sähe" and "ste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "puzzles vs ste". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,535,564 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