Which to use
“sich” is a pronoun and “sicher” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20
- “sich” frequency rank
- #270
- “sicher” frequency rank
- 290
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sich | sicher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Reflexivpronomen der dritten Person Singular | vor Gefahren geschützt |
Where the eye mixes sich and sicher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sich with sicher
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sich is [zɪç] while sicher is [ˈzɪçɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “sich” sits inside “sicher”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 290, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sich is recorded at frequency rank #20, classified as apron, pronounced [zɪç]. sicher is at rank #270, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɪçɐ].
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 290, this pair ranks #2,006,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sich vs sicher
Shared letters: chis. Private to "sich": -. Private to "sicher": er.
"sich" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "sicher" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sich" for "sicher" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sich" or "sicher"?
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 "sich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sicher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,006,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sich" and "sicher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sich vs Sire". 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 #2,006,041 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.