Which to use
“sitzen” is a verb and “sitzende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,093
- “sitzen” frequency rank
- #25,313
- “sitzende” frequency rank
- 26406
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sitzen | sitzende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich mit dem Gesäß auf etwas niedergelassen haben | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs sitzend |
Where the eye mixes sitzen and sitzende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. sitzen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against sitzende's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: sitzen vs sitzende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sitzen is [ˈzɪt͡sn̩] while sitzende is [ˈzɪt͡sn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “sitzen” sits inside “sitzende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sitzen is recorded at frequency rank #1,093, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈzɪt͡sn̩]. sitzende is at rank #25,313, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈzɪt͡sn̩də].
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 26406, this pair ranks #1,818,619 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sitzen vs sitzende
Shared letters: einstz. Private to "sitzen": -. Private to "sitzende": d.
"sitzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "sitzende" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sitzen" for "sitzende" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sitzen" vs "sitzende" - which ranks higher?
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 "sitzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sitzende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,818,619 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sitzen" and "sitzende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "singende vs sitzende". 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 #1,818,619 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.