Which to use
“sehn” and “stehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,016
- “sehn” frequency rank
- #297
- “stehen” frequency rank
- 13313
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sehn | stehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sehnen | sich auf den Beinen ohne Ortsveränderung aufhalten |
Where the eye mixes sehn and stehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sehn runs 4 letters (CVCC) against stehen's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses sehn with stehen
A purely visual mix-up. sehn ([zeːn]) and stehen ([ˈʃteːən]) 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 13313, 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]. stehen is at rank #297, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃteːən].
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 13313, this pair ranks #1,958,770 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sehn vs stehen
Shared letters: ehns. Private to "sehn": -. Private to "stehen": t.
"sehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "stehen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sehn" and "stehen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "sehn" or "stehen" show up more?
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 "sehn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,770 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sehn" and "stehen" 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 #1,958,770 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.