según vs sein, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“según” is a preposition and “sein” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#196
“según” frequency rank: #45,601
“sein” frequency rank: 45797
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	según	sein
Definition	Conforme con, con arreglo a.	Ser, estar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set según and sein apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

según

4 ch

sein

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: según is [seˈɣ̞ũn] while sein is [ˈzaɪ̯n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

según is recorded at frequency rank #196, classified as aprep, pronounced [seˈɣ̞ũn]. sein is at rank #45,601, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈzaɪ̯n].

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 45797, this pair ranks #129,403 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of según vs sein

Shared letters: ens. Private to "según": gú. Private to "sein": i.

"según" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "sein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

sein ← esin · seinn · seni · ssein

Frequency comparison

según#196

sein#45,601

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "según" and "sein" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "según" is a preposition and "sein" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "según" or "sein"?

"según" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #196 in our Spanish list, against #45,601 for "sein". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering según vs sein

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “según”; for a verb, it's “sein”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “según” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable