seltsamvsseltsamenTell them apart

Which to use

“seltsam” and “seltsamen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,994
“seltsam” frequency rank
#12,381
“seltsamen” frequency rank
16375
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature seltsam seltsamen
Definition nicht normal; merkwürdig, sonderbar Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs seltsam

Where the eye mixes seltsam and seltsamen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. seltsam runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against seltsamen's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
seltsam
9 ch
seltsamen

Look-alike desk: seltsam vs seltsamen

A purely visual mix-up. seltsam ([ˈzɛltzaːm]) and seltsamen ([ˈzɛltzaːmən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “seltsam” sits inside “seltsamen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16375, 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]. seltsamen is at rank #12,381, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɛltzaːmən].

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 16375, this pair ranks #1,936,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of seltsam vs seltsamen

Shared letters: aelmst. Private to "seltsam": -. Private to "seltsamen": n.

"seltsam" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "seltsamen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • seltsam ← esltsam · selltsam · selstam · seltasm · seltsamm · seltsma · seltssam · selttsam
  • seltsamen ← esltsamen · selltsamen · selstamen · seltasmen · seltsaemn · seltsamenn · seltsammen · seltsamne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "seltsam" and "seltsamen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzɛltzaːm] versus [ˈzɛltzaːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "seltsam" vs "seltsamen" - which ranks higher?
"seltsam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,994 in our German list, against #12,381 for "seltsamen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "seltsamen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,936,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "seltsam" and "seltsamen" 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 #1,936,374 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list