SeesvsSemConfusable pair

Which to use

“Sees” and “Sem” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,668
“Sees” frequency rank
#29,785
“Sem” frequency rank
44453
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sees Sem
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs See kleinster, nicht weiter zerlegbarer Bestandteil der Bedeutung eines Wortes oder Morphems

Where the eye mixes Sees and Sem

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Sees
3 ch
Sem

Why the eye confuses Sees with Sem

A purely visual mix-up. Sees ([zeːs]) and Sem ([zeːm]) 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 44453, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sees is recorded at frequency rank #14,668, classified as anoun, pronounced [zeːs]. Sem is at rank #29,785, tagged as anoun, pronounced [zeːm].

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 44453, this pair ranks #1,385,711 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Sees vs Sem

Shared letters: es. Private to "Sees": -. Private to "Sem": m.

"Sees" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Sem" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Seesseess · ssees

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Sees" for "Sem" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([zeːs] versus [zeːm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Sees" vs "Sem" - which ranks higher?
"Sees" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,668 in our German list, against #29,785 for "Sem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Sees" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,385,711 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Sees" and "Sem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs Sem". 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 #1,385,711 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