Which to use
“zähe” is an adjective and “Zahl” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,398
- “zähe” frequency rank
- #730
- “Zahl” frequency rank
- 45128
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zähe | Zahl |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zäh | numerischer Wert, Quantität (das Wieviel) |
Where the eye mixes zähe and Zahl
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. zähe (CVCV) and Zahl (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between zähe and Zahl
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zähe is [ˈt͡sɛːə] while Zahl is [t͡saːl]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45128, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zähe is recorded at frequency rank #44,398, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛːə]. Zahl is at rank #730, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡saːl].
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 45128, this pair ranks #1,363,557 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zähe vs Zahl
Shared letters: hz. Private to "zähe": eä. Private to "Zahl": al.
"zähe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Zahl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Zahl ← azhl · zahhl · zahll · zalh · zhal · zzahl
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zähe" and "Zahl" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "zähe" or "Zahl" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "zähe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Zahl" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,363,557 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zähe" and "Zahl" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zähe vs zapf". 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 #1,363,557 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.