Which to use
“seien” is a verb and “seitens” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #782
- “seien” frequency rank
- #3,918
- “seitens” frequency rank
- 4700
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seien | seitens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sein | auf der Seite von …; von … aus |
Where the eye mixes seien and seitens
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. seien runs 5 letters (CVVVC) against seitens's 7 (CVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses seien with seitens
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: seien is [ˈzaɪ̯ən] while seitens is [ˈzaɪ̯tn̩s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4700, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seien is recorded at frequency rank #782, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzaɪ̯ən]. seitens is at rank #3,918, tagged as aprep, pronounced [ˈzaɪ̯tn̩s].
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 4700, this pair ranks #1,996,942 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of seien vs seitens
Shared letters: eins. Private to "seien": -. Private to "seitens": t.
"seien" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "seitens" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "seien" for "seitens" ever safe?
Which is more common, "seien" or "seitens"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "seien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "seitens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,996,942 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seien" and "seitens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seien vs Stilen". 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 #1,996,942 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.