Which to use
“selten” is an adjective and “setzen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #911
- “selten” frequency rank
- #692
- “setzen” frequency rank
- 1603
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | selten | setzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nur in geringen Mengen vorhanden | jemanden oder etwas in eine sitzende Position bringen |
Where the eye mixes selten and setzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: selten vs setzen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: selten is [ˈzɛltn̩] while setzen is [ˈzɛt͡sn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1603, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
selten is recorded at frequency rank #911, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛltn̩]. setzen is at rank #692, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɛt͡sn̩].
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 1603, this pair ranks #2,004,045 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of selten vs setzen
Shared letters: enst. Private to "selten": l. Private to "setzen": z.
"selten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "setzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "selten" for "setzen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "selten" or "setzen" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "selten" and "setzen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "selten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "setzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,004,045 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "selten" and "setzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "selten vs Stuten". 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 #2,004,045 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.