Which to use
“zähe” and “zarte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,398
- “zähe” frequency rank
- #14,469
- “zarte” frequency rank
- 58867
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zähe | zarte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zäh | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zart |
Where the eye mixes zähe and zarte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. zähe runs 4 letters (CVCV) against zarte's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: zähe vs zarte
A purely visual mix-up. zähe ([ˈt͡sɛːə]) and zarte ([ˈt͡saːɐ̯tə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58867, 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]. zarte is at rank #14,469, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡saːɐ̯tə].
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 58867, this pair ranks #846,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zähe vs zarte
Shared letters: ez. Private to "zähe": hä. Private to "zarte": art.
"zähe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "zarte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- zarte ← azrte · zaret · zarrte · zartte · zatre · zrate · zzarte
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zähe" for "zarte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "zähe" or "zarte"?
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 "zarte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #846,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zähe" and "zarte" 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 #846,292 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.