Which to use
“zähen” is an adjective and “ziehen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,326
- “zähen” frequency rank
- #771
- “ziehen” frequency rank
- 38097
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zähen | ziehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zäh | mit Anwendung von Kraft hinter sich her oder auf sich zu bewegen |
Where the eye mixes zähen and ziehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. zähen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against ziehen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses zähen with ziehen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zähen is [ˈt͡sɛːən] while ziehen is [ˈt͡siːən]. 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 38097, 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]. ziehen is at rank #771, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡siːən].
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 38097, this pair ranks #1,572,869 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zähen vs ziehen
Shared letters: ehnz. Private to "zähen": ä. Private to "ziehen": i.
"zähen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "ziehen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ziehen ← izehen · zeihen · zieehn · ziehenn · ziehhen · ziehne · ziheen · zziehen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zähen" for "ziehen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "zähen" or "ziehen"?
Useful next steps
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 "ziehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,572,869 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zähen" and "ziehen" 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 #1,572,869 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.