Which to use
“zähe” is an adjective and “Zaun” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,398
- “zähe” frequency rank
- #6,489
- “Zaun” frequency rank
- 50887
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zähe | Zaun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zäh | eine aus Drahtgeflecht oder aus (gekreuzten, parallel angeordneten oder dergleichen) Metall- oder Holzstäben bestehende Vorrichtung, die zumeist ein Grundstück, ein bestimmtes Areal oder dergleichen eingrenzt |
Where the eye mixes zähe and Zaun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. zähe (CVCV) and Zaun (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between zähe and Zaun
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zähe is [ˈt͡sɛːə] while Zaun is [t͡saʊ̯n]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 50887, 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]. Zaun is at rank #6,489, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡saʊ̯n].
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 50887, this pair ranks #1,156,528 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zähe vs Zaun
Shared letters: z. Private to "zähe": ehä. Private to "Zaun": anu.
"zähe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Zaun" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Zaun ← azun · zanu · zaunn · zuan · zzaun
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zähe" for "Zaun" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "zähe" or "Zaun" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "zähe" and "Zaun" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zähe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Zaun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,156,528 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zähe" and "Zaun" 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 #1,156,528 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.