Which to use
“setze” and “setzte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,307
- “setze” frequency rank
- #1,434
- “setzte” frequency rank
- 6741
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | setze | setzte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs setzen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs setzen |
Where the eye mixes setze and setzte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: setze vs setzte
A purely visual mix-up. setze ([ˈzɛt͡sə]) and setzte ([ˈzɛt͡stə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6741, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
setze is recorded at frequency rank #5,307, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɛt͡sə]. setzte is at rank #1,434, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɛt͡stə].
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 6741, this pair ranks #1,990,603 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of setze vs setzte
Shared letters: estz. Private to "setze": -. Private to "setzte": -.
"setze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "setzte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "setze" and "setzte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "setze" or "setzte" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "setze" and "setzte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "setze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "setzte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,990,603 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "setze" and "setzte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Serbe vs setze". 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 #1,990,603 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.