Which to use
“sähe” is a verb and “Sühne” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,704
- “sähe” frequency rank
- #41,488
- “Sühne” frequency rank
- 55192
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sähe | Sühne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sehen | eine Wiedergutmachung, eine Genugtuung, eine Leistung für ein begangenes Unrecht oder ein Verschulden |
Where the eye mixes sähe and Sühne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. sähe runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Sühne's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between sähe and Sühne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sähe is [ˈzɛːə] while Sühne is [ˈzyːnə]. 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 55192, 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]. Sühne is at rank #41,488, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈzyːnə].
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 55192, this pair ranks #989,141 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sähe vs Sühne
Shared letters: ehs. Private to "sähe": ä. Private to "Sühne": nü.
"sähe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Sühne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sähe" and "Sühne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "sähe" or "Sühne" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "sähe" and "Sühne" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sähe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Sühne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #989,141 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sähe" and "Sühne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Sohns vs Sühne". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #989,141 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.