SehervsStecherWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#39,624
“Seher” frequency rank
#32,286
“Stecher” frequency rank
71910
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Seher Stecher
Definition jemand, der sich etwas ansieht Person, die Gravuren für Druckplatten oder dergleichen anfertigt

Where the eye mixes Seher and Stecher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Seher runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Stecher's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Seher
7 ch
Stecher

Why the eye confuses Seher with Stecher

A purely visual mix-up. Seher ([ˈzeːɐ]) and Stecher ([ˈʃtɛçɐ]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71910, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Seher is recorded at frequency rank #39,624, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzeːɐ]. Stecher is at rank #32,286, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃtɛçɐ].

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 71910, this pair ranks #403,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Seher vs Stecher

Shared letters: ehrs. Private to "Seher": -. Private to "Stecher": ct.

"Seher" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Stecher" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Seher ← esher · seehr · seherr · sehher · sehre · sheer · sseher
  • Stecher ← setcher · sstecher · stceher · steccher · stecehr · stecherr · stechher · stechre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Seher" for "Stecher" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzeːɐ] versus [ˈʃtɛçɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Seher" or "Stecher"?
"Stecher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,286 in our German list, against #39,624 for "Seher". 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 "Seher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Stecher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #403,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Seher" and "Stecher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Seher vs steter". 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 #403,286 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