Which to use
“seal” and “sehn” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,260
- “seal” frequency rank
- #13,016
- “sehn” frequency rank
- 45276
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seal | sehn |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dichten, abdichten | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sehnen |
Where the eye mixes seal and sehn
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. seal (CVVC) and sehn (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses seal with sehn
A purely visual mix-up. seal ([siːl]) and sehn ([zeːn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45276, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seal is recorded at frequency rank #32,260, classified as averb, pronounced [siːl]. sehn is at rank #13,016, tagged as averb, pronounced [zeːn].
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 45276, this pair ranks #1,358,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of seal vs sehn
Shared letters: es. Private to "seal": al. Private to "sehn": hn.
"seal" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "sehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "seal" and "sehn" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "seal" or "sehn"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "seal" and "sehn" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "seal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sehn" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,358,570 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seal" and "sehn" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seal vs seg". 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 #1,358,570 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.