Which to use
“zäher” is an adjective and “zähle” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,351
- “zäher” frequency rank
- #12,847
- “zähle” frequency rank
- 53198
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zäher | zähle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zäh | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zählen |
Where the eye mixes zäher and zähle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. zäher (CVCVC) and zähle (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: zäher vs zähle
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zäher is [ˈt͡sɛːɐ] while zähle is [ˈt͡sɛːlə]. 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 53198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zäher is recorded at frequency rank #40,351, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛːɐ]. zähle is at rank #12,847, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛːlə].
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 53198, this pair ranks #1,067,430 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zäher vs zähle
Shared letters: ehzä. Private to "zäher": r. Private to "zähle": l.
"zäher" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "zähle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zäher" for "zähle" ever safe?
Which is more common, "zäher" or "zähle"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "zäher" and "zähle" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zäher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zähle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,067,430 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zäher" and "zähle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zäher vs Zählern". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,067,430 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.