Which to use
“seltsam” is an adjective and “Sesam” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,994
- “seltsam” frequency rank
- #46,990
- “Sesam” frequency rank
- 50984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seltsam | Sesam |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht normal; merkwürdig, sonderbar | Pflanze der Art Sesamum indicum, aus der Familie der Sesamgewächse |
Where the eye mixes seltsam and Sesam
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. seltsam runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against Sesam's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between seltsam and Sesam
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: seltsam is [ˈzɛltzaːm] while Sesam is [ˈzeːzam]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50984, 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]. Sesam is at rank #46,990, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈzeːzam].
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 50984, this pair ranks #1,152,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of seltsam vs Sesam
Shared letters: aems. Private to "seltsam": lt. Private to "Sesam": -.
"seltsam" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "Sesam" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "seltsam" and "Sesam" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "seltsam" or "Sesam"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "seltsam" and "Sesam" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "seltsam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Sesam" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,152,899 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seltsam" and "Sesam" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sega 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 #1,152,899 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.