SätzenvsstützenConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#6,859
“Sätzen” frequency rank
#8,789
“stützen” frequency rank
15648
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sätzen stützen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Satz jemanden, etwas (ab)sichern, zusätzlichen Halt geben

Where the eye mixes Sätzen and stützen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Sätzen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against stützen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Sätzen
7 ch
stützen

Why the eye confuses Sätzen with stützen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Sätzen is [ˈzɛt͡sn̩] while stützen is [ˈʃtʏt͡sn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15648, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sätzen is recorded at frequency rank #6,859, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzɛt͡sn̩]. stützen is at rank #8,789, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtʏt͡sn̩].

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 15648, this pair ranks #1,942,197 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Sätzen vs stützen

Shared letters: enstz. Private to "Sätzen": ä. Private to "stützen": ü.

"Sätzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "stützen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Sätzen" and "stützen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Sätzen" is a noun and "stützen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Sätzen" or "stützen" show up more?
"Sätzen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,859 in our German list, against #8,789 for "stützen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Sätzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "stützen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,942,197 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Sätzen" and "stützen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Stuten vs stützen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,942,197 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