Which to use
“säuft” is a verb and “Säure” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,266
- “säuft” frequency rank
- #11,980
- “Säure” frequency rank
- 56246
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | säuft | Säure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs saufen | chemische Verbindung, die im Zuge einer Säure-Base-Reaktion Protonen abgeben kann |
Where the eye mixes säuft and Säure
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses säuft with Säure
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: säuft is [ˈzɔɪ̯ft] while Säure is [ˈzɔɪ̯ʁə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56246, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
säuft is recorded at frequency rank #44,266, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯ft]. Säure is at rank #11,980, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯ʁə].
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 56246, this pair ranks #947,699 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of säuft vs Säure
Shared letters: suä. Private to "säuft": ft. Private to "Säure": er.
"säuft" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "Säure" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "säuft" and "Säure" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "säuft" or "Säure" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "säuft" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Säure" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #947,699 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "säuft" and "Säure" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "säuft vs surft". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #947,699 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.