SendungvsSetzungWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,786
“Sendung” frequency rank
#32,266
“Setzung” frequency rank
34052
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Sendung Setzung
Definition die Ausstrahlung einer Rundfunkübertragung allgemein: Absenkung eines Gebäudes oder Geländes

Where the eye mixes Sendung and Setzung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Sendung
7 ch
Setzung

Why the eye confuses Sendung with Setzung

A purely visual mix-up. Sendung ([ˈzɛndʊŋ]) and Setzung ([ˈzɛt͡sʊŋ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34052, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Sendung is recorded at frequency rank #1,786, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzɛndʊŋ]. Setzung is at rank #32,266, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈzɛt͡sʊŋ].

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 34052, this pair ranks #1,672,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Sendung vs Setzung

Shared letters: egnsu. Private to "Sendung": d. Private to "Setzung": tz.

"Sendung" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Setzung" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Sendungesndung · sednung · senddung · sendnug · sendugn · sendungg · sendunng · senndung
  • Setzungestzung · settzung · setuzng · setznug · setzugn · setzungg · setzunng · setzzung

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Sendung" and "Setzung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈzɛndʊŋ] versus [ˈzɛt͡sʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Sendung" or "Setzung" show up more?
"Sendung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,786 in our German list, against #32,266 for "Setzung". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Sendung" and "Setzung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Sendung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Setzung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,672,073 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Sendung" and "Setzung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "setting vs Setzung". 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 #1,672,073 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