Which to use
“schien” and “suchten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,148
- “schien” frequency rank
- #7,820
- “suchten” frequency rank
- 10968
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schien | suchten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs scheinen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs suchen |
Where the eye mixes schien and suchten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schien and suchten
A purely visual mix-up. schien ([ʃiːn]) and suchten ([ˈzuːxtn̩]) 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 10968, 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]. suchten is at rank #7,820, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzuːxtn̩].
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 10968, this pair ranks #1,972,378 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schien vs suchten
Shared letters: cehns. Private to "schien": i. Private to "suchten": tu.
"schien" · 6 letters · shape CCCVVC · "suchten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "schien" and "suchten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "schien" vs "suchten" - which ranks higher?
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 "schien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "suchten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,972,378 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schien" and "suchten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schien vs schrien". 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 #1,972,378 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.