Which to use
“Seilen” is a noun and “stillen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,053
- “Seilen” frequency rank
- #7,235
- “stillen” frequency rank
- 34288
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Seilen | stillen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Seil | etwas (meist Bedürfnisse) beruhigen, abschwächen |
Where the eye mixes Seilen and stillen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Seilen runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against stillen's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Seilen with stillen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Seilen is [ˈzaɪ̯lən] while stillen is [ˈʃtɪlən]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34288, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Seilen is recorded at frequency rank #27,053, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzaɪ̯lən]. stillen is at rank #7,235, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʃtɪlən].
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 34288, this pair ranks #1,666,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Seilen vs stillen
Shared letters: eilns. Private to "Seilen": -. Private to "stillen": t.
"Seilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "stillen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Seilen" and "stillen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Seilen" or "stillen" 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 "Seilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stillen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,666,736 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Seilen" and "stillen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Seilen 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 #1,666,736 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.