SeuchenvsseufzenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#35,445
“Seuchen” frequency rank
#37,776
“seufzen” frequency rank
73221
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Seuchen seufzen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Seuche hörbar und heftig ein- und ausatmen, als Zeichen starker Gefühle wie Kummer, Erleichterung oder Resignation

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Seuchen and seufzen apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Seuchen
7 ch
seufzen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Seuchen is [ˈzɔɪ̯çn̩] while seufzen is [ˈzɔɪ̯ft͡sn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73221, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Seuchen is recorded at frequency rank #35,445, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯çn̩]. 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 73221, this pair ranks #366,379 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Seuchen vs seufzen

Shared letters: ensu. Private to "Seuchen": ch. Private to "seufzen": fz.

"Seuchen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "seufzen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Seuchenesuchen · secuhen · seucchen · seucehn · seuchenn · seuchhen · seuchne · seuhcen
  • seufzenesufzen · sefuzen · seufezn · seuffzen · seufzenn · seufzne · seufzzen · seuzfen

Frequency comparison

Seuchen#35,445
seufzen#37,776

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Seuchen" and "seufzen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Seuchen" is a noun and "seufzen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Seuchen" or "seufzen"?
"Seuchen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,445 in our German list, against #37,776 for "seufzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Seuchen vs seufzen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Seuchen”; for a verb, it's “seufzen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Seuchen” 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