sicherenvssicherteTell them apart

Quick tell: sicheren is a adjective, sicherte is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sicheren” is an adjective and “sicherte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,737
“sicheren” frequency rank
#8,627
“sicherte” frequency rank
13364
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sicheren sicherte
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs sicher 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs sichern

Where the eye mixes sicheren and sicherte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. sicheren (CVCCVCVC) and sicherte (CVCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
sicheren
8 ch
sicherte

Look-alike desk: sicheren vs sicherte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sicheren is [ˈzɪçəʁən] while sicherte is [ˈzɪçɐtə]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13364, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sicheren is recorded at frequency rank #4,737, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɪçəʁən]. sicherte is at rank #8,627, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzɪçɐtə].

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 13364, this pair ranks #1,958,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sicheren vs sicherte

Shared letters: cehirs. Private to "sicheren": n. Private to "sicherte": t.

"sicheren" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "sicherte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sicheren ← ischeren · sciheren · siccheren · sicehren · sicheern · sicherenn · sicherne · sicherren
  • sicherte ← ischerte · sciherte · siccherte · sicehrte · sicheret · sicherrte · sichertte · sichetre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sicheren" for "sicherte" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sicheren" is an adjective and "sicherte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "sicheren" vs "sicherte" - which ranks higher?
"sicheren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,737 in our German list, against #8,627 for "sicherte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sicheren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sicherte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,958,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sicheren" and "sicherte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Schergen vs sicheren". 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 #1,958,464 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