segnenvsSehneWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: segnen is a verb, Sehne is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“segnen” is a verb and “Sehne” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,902
“segnen” frequency rank
#22,136
“Sehne” frequency rank
57038
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature segnen Sehne
Definition jemandem oder etwas den Segen erteilen Band aus Bindegewebe zwischen Muskeln und Knochen zur wechselseitigen Übertragung der im Bewegungsablauf auftretenden mechanischen Kräfte

Where the eye mixes segnen and Sehne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. segnen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Sehne's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
segnen
5 ch
Sehne

Why the eye confuses segnen with Sehne

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: segnen is [ˈzeːɡnən] while Sehne is [ˈzeːnə]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

segnen is recorded at frequency rank #34,902, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzeːɡnən]. Sehne is at rank #22,136, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈzeːnə].

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 57038, this pair ranks #916,954 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of segnen vs Sehne

Shared letters: ens. Private to "segnen": g. Private to "Sehne": h.

"segnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Sehne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • segnen ← esgnen · seggnen · segnenn · segnnen · sengen · sgenen · ssegnen
  • Sehne ← eshne · sehhne · senhe · shene · ssehne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "segnen" for "Sehne" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "segnen" is a verb and "Sehne" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "segnen" or "Sehne" show up more?
"Sehne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,136 in our German list, against #34,902 for "segnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "segnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Sehne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #916,954 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "segnen" and "Sehne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "segnen vs Stegen". 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 #916,954 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