Which to use
“seltsam” and “seltsame” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,994
- “seltsam” frequency rank
- #7,528
- “seltsame” frequency rank
- 11522
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seltsam | seltsame |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht normal; merkwürdig, sonderbar | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs seltsam |
Where the eye mixes seltsam and seltsame
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. seltsam runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against seltsame's 8 (CVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between seltsam and seltsame
A purely visual mix-up. seltsam ([ˈzɛltzaːm]) and seltsame ([ˈzɛltzaːmə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “seltsam” sits inside “seltsame”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seltsam is recorded at frequency rank #3,994, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛltzaːm]. seltsame is at rank #7,528, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛltzaːmə].
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 11522, this pair ranks #1,969,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of seltsam vs seltsame
Shared letters: aelmst. Private to "seltsam": -. Private to "seltsame": -.
"seltsam" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "seltsame" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "seltsam" and "seltsame" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "seltsam" or "seltsame" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "seltsam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "seltsame" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,969,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seltsam" and "seltsame" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seltsam vs Sesam". 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 #1,969,450 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.