Which to use
“sehn” and “sein” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,016
- “sehn” frequency rank
- #63
- “sein” frequency rank
- 13079
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sehn | sein |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sehnen | Kopula, die dem Subjekt ein logisches Prädikat zuordnet |
Where the eye mixes sehn and sein
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sehn vs sein
A purely visual mix-up. sehn ([zeːn]) and sein ([zaɪ̯n]) 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 a single letter - h in “sehn” becomes i in “sein”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13079, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sehn is recorded at frequency rank #13,016, classified as averb, pronounced [zeːn]. sein is at rank #63, tagged as averb, pronounced [zaɪ̯n].
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 13079, this pair ranks #1,960,253 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sehn vs sein
Shared letters: ens. Private to "sehn": h. Private to "sein": i.
"sehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "sein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sehn" and "sein" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "sehn" or "sein" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sehn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sein" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,960,253 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sehn" and "sein" 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 #1,960,253 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.