Which to use
“sehnen” and “stehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,208
- “sehnen” frequency rank
- #297
- “stehen” frequency rank
- 15505
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sehnen | stehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den starken Wunsch haben, dass jemand oder etwas da ist | sich auf den Beinen ohne Ortsveränderung aufhalten |
Where the eye mixes sehnen and stehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sehnen vs stehen
A purely visual mix-up. sehnen ([ˈzeːnən]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15505, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sehnen is recorded at frequency rank #15,208, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzeːnən]. 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 15505, this pair ranks #1,943,355 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sehnen vs stehen
Shared letters: ehns. Private to "sehnen": -. Private to "stehen": t.
"sehnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "stehen" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sehnen" and "stehen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sehnen" or "stehen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "sehnen" and "stehen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sehnen" 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 #1,943,355 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sehnen" and "stehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sehnen vs Sühne". 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 #1,943,355 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.