Which to use
“selbiges” is a pronoun and “seligen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,619
- “selbiges” frequency rank
- #34,903
- “seligen” frequency rank
- 71522
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | selbiges | seligen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum des Demonstrativpronomens selbig | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs selig |
Where the eye mixes selbiges and seligen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. selbiges runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against seligen's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses selbiges with seligen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: selbiges is [ˈzɛlbɪɡəs] while seligen is [ˈzeːˌlɪɡn̩]. 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 (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
selbiges is recorded at frequency rank #36,619, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈzɛlbɪɡəs]. seligen is at rank #34,903, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈzeːˌlɪɡn̩].
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 71522, this pair ranks #414,351 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of selbiges vs seligen
Shared letters: egils. Private to "selbiges": b. Private to "seligen": n.
"selbiges" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "seligen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "selbiges" and "seligen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "selbiges" vs "seligen" - which ranks higher?
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 "selbiges" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "seligen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #414,351 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "selbiges" and "seligen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "selbiges vs seliger". 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 #414,351 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.