sensvssiesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sens is a noun, sies is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sens” is a noun and “sies” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,806
“sens” frequency rank
#40,209
“sies” frequency rank
83015
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sens sies
Definition Bedeutung; Sinn archaisch: 2. Person Singular Konjunktiv Präsens Aktiv des Verbs esse

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sens and sies apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sens
4 ch
sies

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sens is anoun and siesaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sens is recorded at frequency rank #42,806, classified as anoun, pronounced [sɑ̃s]. sies is at rank #40,209, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 83015, this pair ranks #147,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sens vs sies

Shared letters: es. Private to "sens": n. Private to "sies": i.

"sens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "sies" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sensesns · senns · senss · sesn · snes · ssens
  • siesseis · siess · sise · ssies

Frequency comparison

sens#42,806
sies#40,209

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sens" and "sies" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sens" is a noun and "sies" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sens" or "sies"?
"sies" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,209 in our German list, against #42,806 for "sens". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sens vs sies

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sens”; for a verb, it's “sies”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sens” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list