Which to use
“sehr” is a particle and “ser” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #81
- “sehr” frequency rank
- #16,824
- “ser” frequency rank
- 16905
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sehr | ser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in hohem Maße, besonders | sein |
Where the eye mixes sehr and ser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sehr and ser
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sehr is [zeːɐ̯] while ser is [sɛ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (particle vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16905, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sehr is recorded at frequency rank #81, classified as aparticle, pronounced [zeːɐ̯]. ser is at rank #16,824, tagged as averb, pronounced [sɛ].
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 16905, this pair ranks #1,932,032 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sehr vs ser
Shared letters: ers. Private to "sehr": h. Private to "ser": -.
"sehr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "ser" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sehr ← eshr · sehhr · sehrr · serh · sher · ssehr
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sehr" for "ser" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sehr" or "ser"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sehr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,932,032 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sehr" and "ser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ser vs serra". 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 #1,932,032 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.