SamenvssammelnConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#6,466
“Samen” frequency rank
#2,784
“sammeln” frequency rank
9250
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Samen sammeln
Definition vielzelliger Fortpflanzungskörper der Samenpflanzen systematisch suchen, erhalten und aufbewahren einer abgegrenzten Art beziehungsweise Kategorie bestimmter Gegenstände oder Informationen

Where the eye mixes Samen and sammeln

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Samen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against sammeln's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Samen
7 ch
sammeln

Look-alike desk: Samen vs sammeln

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Samen is [ˈzaːmən] while sammeln is [ˈzaml̩n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9250, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Samen is recorded at frequency rank #6,466, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzaːmən]. sammeln is at rank #2,784, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzaml̩n].

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 9250, this pair ranks #1,980,791 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Samen vs sammeln

Shared letters: aemns. Private to "Samen": -. Private to "sammeln": l.

"Samen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "sammeln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Samen ← asmen · saemn · samenn · sammen · samne · smaen · ssamen
  • sammeln ← asmmeln · sameln · samemln · sammelln · sammelnn · sammenl · sammlen · smameln

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Samen" for "sammeln" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Samen" is a noun and "sammeln" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Samen" vs "sammeln" - which ranks higher?
"sammeln" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,784 in our German list, against #6,466 for "Samen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Samen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sammeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,980,791 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Samen" and "sammeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Samen vs Satin". 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 #1,980,791 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