Which to use
“sehen” and “sehn” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #187
- “sehen” frequency rank
- #13,016
- “sehn” frequency rank
- 13203
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sehen | sehn |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aktiv und passiv wahrnehmen über das Sinnesorgan Auge | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sehnen |
Where the eye mixes sehen and sehn
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sehen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against sehn's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between sehen and sehn
A purely visual mix-up. sehen ([ˈzeːən]) and sehn ([zeːn]) 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 13203, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sehen is recorded at frequency rank #187, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzeːən]. sehn is at rank #13,016, tagged as averb, pronounced [zeːn].
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 13203, this pair ranks #1,959,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sehen vs sehn
Shared letters: ehns. Private to "sehen": -. Private to "sehn": -.
"sehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "sehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sehen" and "sehn" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sehen" vs "sehn" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "sehen" and "sehn" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sehn" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,959,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sehen" and "sehn" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs sehn". 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 #1,959,450 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.