Which to use
“setzen” and “seufzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #692
- “setzen” frequency rank
- #37,776
- “seufzen” frequency rank
- 38468
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | setzen | seufzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden oder etwas in eine sitzende Position bringen | hörbar und heftig ein- und ausatmen, als Zeichen starker Gefühle wie Kummer, Erleichterung oder Resignation |
Where the eye mixes setzen and seufzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. setzen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against seufzen's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between setzen and seufzen
A purely visual mix-up. setzen ([ˈzɛt͡sn̩]) and seufzen ([ˈzɔɪ̯ft͡sn̩]) 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 38468, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
setzen is recorded at frequency rank #692, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɛt͡sn̩]. seufzen is at rank #37,776, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯ft͡sn̩].
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 38468, this pair ranks #1,563,196 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of setzen vs seufzen
Shared letters: ensz. Private to "setzen": t. Private to "seufzen": fu.
"setzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "seufzen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "setzen" for "seufzen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "setzen" vs "seufzen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "setzen" and "seufzen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "setzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "seufzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,563,196 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "setzen" and "seufzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seufzen vs Seufzer". 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 #1,563,196 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.