zähen vs Zahl, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#37,326
“zähen” frequency rank: #730
“Zahl” frequency rank: 38056
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	zähen	Zahl
Definition	Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zäh	numerischer Wert, Quantität (das Wieviel)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set zähen and Zahl apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

zähen

4 ch

Zahl

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zähen is [ˈt͡sɛːən] while Zahl is [t͡saːl]. 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 38056, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zähen is recorded at frequency rank #37,326, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛːən]. 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 38056, this pair ranks #1,573,948 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of zähen vs Zahl

Shared letters: hz. Private to "zähen": enä. Private to "Zahl": al.

"zähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Zahl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

Zahl ← azhl · zahhl · zahll · zalh · zhal · zzahl

Frequency comparison

zähen#37,326

Zahl#730

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zähen" and "Zahl" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "zähen" is an adjective and "Zahl" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "zähen" or "Zahl"?

"Zahl" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #730 in our German list, against #37,326 for "zähen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering zähen vs Zahl

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “zähen”; for a noun, it's “Zahl”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “zähen” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable