Which to use
“schien” and “seien” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,148
- “schien” frequency rank
- #782
- “seien” frequency rank
- 3930
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schien | seien |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs scheinen | 1. Person Plural Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sein |
Where the eye mixes schien and seien
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses schien with seien
A purely visual mix-up. schien ([ʃiːn]) and seien ([ˈzaɪ̯ən]) 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 3930, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schien is recorded at frequency rank #3,148, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃiːn]. seien is at rank #782, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzaɪ̯ən].
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 3930, this pair ranks #1,998,994 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schien vs seien
Shared letters: eins. Private to "schien": ch. Private to "seien": -.
"schien" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVC · "seien" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "schien" and "seien" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "schien" or "seien" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "schien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "seien" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,998,994 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schien" and "seien" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seien vs Stilen". 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 #1,998,994 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.