seinsvssensWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: seins is a unknown, sens is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“seins” is an unknown and “sens” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,475
“seins” frequency rank
#42,806
“sens” frequency rank
58281
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature seins sens
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum bei nicht attributivem Gebrauch des Possessivpronomens sein Bedeutung; Sinn

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set seins and sens apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
seins
4 ch
sens

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: seins is [zaɪ̯ns] while sens is [sɑ̃s]. 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 (unknown vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58281, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

seins is recorded at frequency rank #15,475, classified as anunknown, pronounced [zaɪ̯ns]. sens is at rank #42,806, tagged as anoun, pronounced [sɑ̃s].

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 58281, this pair ranks #868,866 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of seins vs sens

Shared letters: ens. Private to "seins": i. Private to "sens": -.

"seins" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "sens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • seinsesins · seinns · seinss · seisn · senis · siens · sseins
  • sensesns · senns · senss · sesn · snes · ssens

Frequency comparison

seins#15,475
sens#42,806

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "seins" and "sens" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "seins" is an unknown and "sens" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "seins" or "sens"?
"seins" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,475 in our German list, against #42,806 for "sens". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering seins vs sens

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an unknown, it's “seins”; for a noun, it's “sens”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “seins” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list