Which to use
“seel” and “sehe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,271
- “seel” frequency rank
- #573
- “sehe” frequency rank
- 46844
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seel | sehe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs seelen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sehen |
Where the eye mixes seel and sehe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. seel (CVVC) and sehe (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses seel with sehe
A purely visual mix-up. seel ([zeːl]) and sehe ([ˈzeːə]) 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 46844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seel is recorded at frequency rank #46,271, classified as averb, pronounced [zeːl]. sehe is at rank #573, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzeːə].
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 46844, this pair ranks #1,305,006 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of seel vs sehe
Shared letters: es. Private to "seel": l. Private to "sehe": h.
"seel" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "sehe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "seel" and "sehe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "seel" or "sehe"?
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 "seel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sehe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,305,006 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seel" and "sehe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seel 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 #1,305,006 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.