zähevsZarTell them apart

Quick tell: zähe is a adjective, Zar is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“zähe” is an adjective and “Zar” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,398
“zähe” frequency rank
#21,491
“Zar” frequency rank
65889
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zähe Zar
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zäh historisch: Herrscher und Herrschertitel in Russland, Bulgarien und Serbien

Where the eye mixes zähe and Zar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. zähe runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Zar's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
zähe
3 ch
Zar

Look-alike desk: zähe vs Zar

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zähe is [ˈt͡sɛːə] while Zar is [t͡saːɐ̯]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65889, 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]. Zar is at rank #21,491, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡saːɐ̯].

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 65889, this pair ranks #591,582 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of zähe vs Zar

Shared letters: z. Private to "zähe": ehä. Private to "Zar": ar.

"zähe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Zar" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zähe" and "Zar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "zähe" is an adjective and "Zar" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "zähe" or "Zar"?
"Zar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,491 in our German list, against #44,398 for "zähe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Zar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #591,582 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zähe" and "Zar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zähe vs zapf". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #591,582 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list