segnenvsseienWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#34,902
“segnen” frequency rank
#782
“seien” frequency rank
35684
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature segnen seien
Definition jemandem oder etwas den Segen erteilen 1. Person Plural Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sein

Where the eye mixes segnen and seien

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
segnen
5 ch
seien

Visual trap between segnen and seien

A purely visual mix-up. segnen ([ˈzeːɡnən]) and seien ([ˈzaɪ̯ən]) 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 35684, 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]. seien is at rank #782, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzaɪ̯ən].

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 35684, this pair ranks #1,634,059 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of segnen vs seien

Shared letters: ens. Private to "segnen": g. Private to "seien": i.

"segnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "seien" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • segnenesgnen · seggnen · segnenn · segnnen · sengen · sgenen · ssegnen
  • seienesien · seein · sieen · sseien

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "segnen" for "seien" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzeːɡnən] versus [ˈzaɪ̯ən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "segnen" or "seien"?
"seien" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #782 in our German list, against #34,902 for "segnen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "segnen" and "seien" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "segnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "seien" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,634,059 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "segnen" and "seien" 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 #1,634,059 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