Which to use
“sieh” and “spies” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,556
- “sieh” frequency rank
- #43,504
- “spies” frequency rank
- 48060
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sieh | spies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs sehen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs speisen |
Where the eye mixes sieh and spies
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sieh vs spies
A purely visual mix-up. sieh ([ziː]) and spies ([ʃpiːs]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sieh is recorded at frequency rank #4,556, classified as averb, pronounced [ziː]. spies is at rank #43,504, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpiːs].
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 48060, this pair ranks #1,262,258 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sieh vs spies
Shared letters: eis. Private to "sieh": h. Private to "spies": p.
"sieh" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "spies" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sieh" and "spies" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "sieh" or "spies" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sieh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,262,258 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sieh" and "spies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Skier vs spies". 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 #1,262,258 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.