SARSvssesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#36,004
“SARS” frequency rank
#26,610
“ses” frequency rank
62614
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature SARS ses
Definition Abkürzung für Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; Schweres akutes Atemwegssyndrom Kontraktion von jsi + se

Where the eye mixes SARS and ses

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
SARS
3 ch
ses

Look-alike desk: SARS vs ses

A purely visual mix-up. SARS ([zaʁs]) and ses ([sɛs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62614, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

SARS is recorded at frequency rank #36,004, classified as anabbrev, pronounced [zaʁs]. ses is at rank #26,610, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [sɛs].

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 62614, this pair ranks #706,425 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of SARS vs ses

Shared letters: s. Private to "SARS": ar. Private to "ses": e.

"SARS" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "ses" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • SARSasrs · sarrs · sarss · sasr · sras · ssars

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "SARS" for "ses" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([zaʁs] versus [sɛs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "SARS" or "ses"?
"ses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,610 in our German list, against #36,004 for "SARS". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "SARS" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #706,425 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "SARS" and "ses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "SARS vs SUVs". 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 #706,425 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