seufzvsseufzenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#27,933
“seufz” frequency rank
#37,776
“seufzen” frequency rank
65709
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature seufz seufzen
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs seufzen hörbar und heftig ein- und ausatmen, als Zeichen starker Gefühle wie Kummer, Erleichterung oder Resignation

Where the eye mixes seufz and seufzen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. seufz runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against seufzen's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
seufz
7 ch
seufzen

Look-alike desk: seufz vs seufzen

A purely visual mix-up. seufz ([zɔɪ̯ft͡s]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “seufz” sits inside “seufzen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65709, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

seufz is recorded at frequency rank #27,933, classified as averb, pronounced [zɔɪ̯ft͡s]. 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 65709, this pair ranks #597,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of seufz vs seufzen

Shared letters: efsuz. Private to "seufz": -. Private to "seufzen": n.

"seufz" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "seufzen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • seufz ← esufz · sefuz · seuffz · seufzz · seuzf · sseufz · suefz
  • seufzen ← esufzen · sefuzen · seufezn · seuffzen · seufzenn · seufzne · seufzzen · seuzfen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "seufz" for "seufzen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([zɔɪ̯ft͡s] versus [ˈzɔɪ̯ft͡sn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "seufz" vs "seufzen" - which ranks higher?
"seufz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,933 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.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "seufz" 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 #597,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "seufz" 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 #597,713 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