sein
[zaɪ̯n]
The verdict
“sein” has 5 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #63. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #63
- frequency rank, German
- 8,027
- “S” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Kopula, die dem Subjekt ein logisches Prädikat zuordnet
Corpus desk
Index DE-sein · sein · German
sein · rank #63 · 5 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #63
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 8,027
- PHOTO-FINISH mir
Nearest frequency peer: mir (-1 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 “sein”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- ja
ja
99,941 corpus weight
- mehr
mehr
99,940 corpus weight
- mir
mir
99,939 corpus weight
- sein
sein
99,938 corpus weight
- vor
vor
99,937 corpus weight
- Mal
Mal
99,936 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “sein” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sein |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [zaɪ̯n] |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #63 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sein” sits in German frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around sein (IPA [zaɪ̯n]), averb. Corpus frequency is #63 among 8,027 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for sein, with forms such as "esin", "seinn", and "seni". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Sn", "sie", "Sex", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is sein, spelled S-E-I-N.
Definition
- 1Kopula, die dem Subjekt ein logisches Prädikat zuordnet
- 2sich am genannten Ort befinden
- 3existieren
- 4Hilfszeitwort zur Bildung zusammengesetzter Zeiten bestimmter Verben
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how sein appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Er ist 30 Jahre alt.
Der Präsident ist schwarz.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- esin
- seinn
- seni
- sien
- ssein
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sein - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "sein"?
What does "sein" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "sein"?
How do you pronounce "sein"?
What language does "sein" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar German words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sein", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).
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.