samtvssumConfusable pair

Quick tell: samt is a preposition, sum is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“samt” is a preposition and “sum” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,155
“samt” frequency rank
#31,289
“sum” frequency rank
35444
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature samt sum
Definition mit Dativ: zusammen mit 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs esse

Letter map: samt vs sum

Shared letters muted; letters that set samt and sum apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
samt
3 ch
sum

Grammar separator: samt vs sum

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: samt is apreposition and sumaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35444, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

samt is recorded at frequency rank #4,155, classified as aprep, pronounced [zamt]. sum is at rank #31,289, 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 35444, this pair ranks #1,639,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of samt vs sum

Shared letters: ms. Private to "samt": at. Private to "sum": u.

"samt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "sum" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • samtasmt · sammt · samtt · satm · smat · ssamt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "samt" and "sum" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "samt" is a preposition and "sum" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "samt" or "sum" show up more?
"samt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,155 in our German list, against #31,289 for "sum". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pair "samt" vs "sum" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "samt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,639,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "samt" and "sum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "puzzles vs sum". 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 #1,639,849 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