sechsvsSethWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: sechs is a num, Seth is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sechs” is a num and “Seth” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#650
“sechs” frequency rank
#22,139
“Seth” frequency rank
22789
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sechs Seth
Definition sechs, die Zahl zwischen fünf und sieben biblischer männlicher Eigenname; dritter Sohn von Adam und Eva

Where the eye mixes sechs and Seth

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. sechs runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against Seth's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
sechs
4 ch
Seth

Why the eye confuses sechs with Seth

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sechs is [zɛks] while Seth is [zeːt]. 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 (num vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sechs is recorded at frequency rank #650, classified as anum, pronounced [zɛks]. Seth is at rank #22,139, tagged as aname, pronounced [zeːt].

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 22789, this pair ranks #1,869,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sechs vs Seth

Shared letters: ehs. Private to "sechs": c. Private to "Seth": t.

"sechs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "Seth" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sechs ← eschs · scehs · secchs · sechhs · sechss · secsh · sehcs · ssechs
  • Seth ← esth · sethh · setth · sseth

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sechs" and "Seth" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sechs" is a num and "Seth" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "sechs" or "Seth" show up more?
"sechs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #650 in our German list, against #22,139 for "Seth". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sechs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Seth" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,869,744 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sechs" and "Seth" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs Seth". 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 #1,869,744 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