sicher vs Speicher, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“sicher” is an adjective and “Speicher” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#270
“sicher” frequency rank: #7,397
“Speicher” frequency rank: 7667
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	sicher	Speicher
Definition	vor Gefahren geschützt	Gebäude, das zur Lagerung von Vorräten dient

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sicher and Speicher apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

sicher

8 ch

Speicher

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sicher is [ˈzɪçɐ] while Speicher is [ˈʃpaɪ̯çɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7667, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sicher is recorded at frequency rank #270, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɪçɐ]. Speicher is at rank #7,397, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpaɪ̯çɐ].

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 7667, this pair ranks #1,987,351 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sicher vs Speicher

Shared letters: cehirs. Private to "sicher": -. Private to "Speicher": p.

"sicher" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Speicher" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

sicher ← ischer · sciher · siccher · sicehr · sicherr · sichher · sichre · sihcer
Speicher ← pseicher · sepicher · speciher · speiccher · speicehr · speicherr · speichher · speichre

Frequency comparison

sicher#270

Speicher#7,397

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sicher" and "Speicher" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sicher" is an adjective and "Speicher" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "sicher" or "Speicher"?

"sicher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #270 in our German list, against #7,397 for "Speicher". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sicher vs Speicher

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “sicher”; for a noun, it's “Speicher”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sicher” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable