Which to use
“zähen” is an adjective and “zahlen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,326
- “zähen” frequency rank
- #628
- “zahlen” frequency rank
- 37954
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zähen | zahlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zäh | Geld für eine Ware oder Leistung geben |
Where the eye mixes zähen and zahlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. zähen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against zahlen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between zähen and zahlen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zähen is [ˈt͡sɛːən] while zahlen is [ˈt͡saːlən]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37954, 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]. zahlen is at rank #628, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saːlən].
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 37954, this pair ranks #1,576,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zähen vs zahlen
Shared letters: ehnz. Private to "zähen": ä. Private to "zahlen": al.
"zähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "zahlen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- zahlen ← azhlen · zaheln · zahhlen · zahlenn · zahllen · zahlne · zalhen · zhalen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zähen" for "zahlen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "zähen" or "zahlen" 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 "zähen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zahlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,576,717 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zähen" and "zahlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zähen vs zechen". 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 #1,576,717 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.