seinvsSexWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sein is a verb, Sex is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sein” is a verb and “Sex” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#63
“sein” frequency rank
#722
“Sex” frequency rank
785
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sein Sex
Definition Kopula, die dem Subjekt ein logisches Prädikat zuordnet Sexualität, Gesamtheit der mit dem Geschlechtsleben verbundenen Einstellungen und Praktiken

Where the eye mixes sein and Sex

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
sein
3 ch
Sex

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sein is [zaɪ̯n] while Sex is [sɛks]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sein is recorded at frequency rank #63, classified as averb, pronounced [zaɪ̯n]. Sex is at rank #722, tagged as anoun, pronounced [sɛks].

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 785, this pair ranks #2,005,337 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sein vs Sex

Shared letters: es. Private to "sein": in. Private to "Sex": x.

"sein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Sex" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • seinesin · seinn · seni · sien · ssein

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sein" and "Sex" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sein" is a verb and "Sex" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sein" or "Sex"?
"sein" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #63 in our German list, against #722 for "Sex". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list