sei

[zaɪ̯]

/[zaɪ̯]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“sei” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #185) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#185
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 2. Person Singular Präsens Imperativ Aktiv des Verbs sein

Corpus desk

Index DE-sei · sei · German

sei · rank #185 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #185
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH Bitte

Nearest frequency peer: Bitte (-2 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “sei”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “sei” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sei vs so
33% similar
sei vs SV
0% similar
sei vs SS
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sei
PropertyValue
Headwordsei
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[zaɪ̯]
Letters3
Frequency rank#185
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sei” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sei lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for sei is neighbouring look-alikes ("so", "SV", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced [zaɪ̯]. Frequency #185 among 8,027 “S” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for sei, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "SV", "SS", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is sei, spelled S-E-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    2. Person Singular Präsens Imperativ Aktiv des Verbs sein
  2. 2
    1. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens des Verbs sein
  3. 3
    3. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens des Verbs sein

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sei"?
"sei" is spelled S-E-I. The IPA pronunciation is [zaɪ̯].
What does "sei" mean?
As a verb, "sei" means: 2. Person Singular Präsens Imperativ Aktiv des Verbs sein
What words are commonly confused with "sei"?
"sei" is commonly confused with "so", "SV", "SS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sei"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sei" is [zaɪ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sei" come from?
"sei" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sei", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Tag#189ins#192nie#199Uhr#200

What to do next

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PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list