Which to use
“zähen” is an adjective and “zählt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,326
- “zähen” frequency rank
- #1,499
- “zählt” frequency rank
- 38825
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zähen | zählt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zäh | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zählen |
Where the eye mixes zähen and zählt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. zähen (CVCVC) and zählt (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: zähen vs zählt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zähen is [ˈt͡sɛːən] while zählt is [t͡sɛːlt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38825, 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]. zählt is at rank #1,499, tagged as averb, pronounced [t͡sɛːlt].
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 38825, this pair ranks #1,553,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zähen vs zählt
Shared letters: hzä. Private to "zähen": en. Private to "zählt": lt.
"zähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "zählt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "zähen" and "zählt" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "zähen" or "zählt"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "zähen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zählt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,553,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zähen" and "zählt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zähen vs zechen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,553,623 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.