Which to use
“sehr” is a particle and “steht” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #81
- “sehr” frequency rank
- #194
- “steht” frequency rank
- 275
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sehr | steht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in hohem Maße, besonders | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs stehen |
Where the eye mixes sehr and steht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sehr and steht
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sehr is [zeːɐ̯] while steht is [ʃteːt]. 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 275, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sehr is recorded at frequency rank #81, classified as aparticle, pronounced [zeːɐ̯]. steht is at rank #194, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃteːt].
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 275, this pair ranks #2,006,058 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sehr vs steht
Shared letters: ehs. Private to "sehr": r. Private to "steht": t.
"sehr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "steht" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sehr" for "steht" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sehr" or "steht"?
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 "sehr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "steht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,006,058 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sehr" and "steht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sehr 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 #2,006,058 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.