gezähltvsgezieltWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gezählt is a verb, gezielt is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gezählt” is a verb and “gezielt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,194
“gezählt” frequency rank
#4,352
“gezielt” frequency rank
10546
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gezählt gezielt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs zählen auf ein Ziel ausgerichtet

Where the eye mixes gezählt and gezielt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
gezählt
7 ch
gezielt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gezählt is [ɡəˈt͡sɛːlt] while gezielt is [ɡəˈt͡siːlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10546, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gezählt is recorded at frequency rank #6,194, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈt͡sɛːlt]. gezielt is at rank #4,352, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈt͡siːlt].

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 10546, this pair ranks #1,974,601 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gezählt vs gezielt

Shared letters: egltz. Private to "gezählt": . Private to "gezielt": i.

"gezählt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "gezielt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gezieltegzielt · geizelt · gezeilt · geziellt · gezieltt · gezietl · gezilet · gezzielt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gezählt" and "gezielt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gezählt" is a verb and "gezielt" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gezählt" or "gezielt"?
"gezielt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,352 in our German list, against #6,194 for "gezählt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list