Which to use
“seufzen” and “seufzte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,776
- “seufzen” frequency rank
- #40,206
- “seufzte” frequency rank
- 77982
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seufzen | seufzte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | hörbar und heftig ein- und ausatmen, als Zeichen starker Gefühle wie Kummer, Erleichterung oder Resignation | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs seufzen |
Where the eye mixes seufzen and seufzte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. seufzen (CVVCCVC) and seufzte (CVVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: seufzen vs seufzte
A purely visual mix-up. seufzen ([ˈzɔɪ̯ft͡sn̩]) and seufzte ([ˈzɔɪ̯ft͡stə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77982, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seufzen is recorded at frequency rank #37,776, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯ft͡sn̩]. seufzte is at rank #40,206, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɔɪ̯ft͡stə].
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 77982, this pair ranks #248,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of seufzen vs seufzte
Shared letters: efsuz. Private to "seufzen": n. Private to "seufzte": t.
"seufzen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "seufzte" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "seufzen" and "seufzte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "seufzen" or "seufzte"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "seufzen" and "seufzte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "seufzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "seufzte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,460 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seufzen" and "seufzte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Seufzer vs seufzte". 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 #248,460 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.