Which to use
“zäher” is an adjective and “zählt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,351
- “zäher” frequency rank
- #1,499
- “zählt” frequency rank
- 41850
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zäher | zählt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs zäh | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zählen |
Where the eye mixes zäher and zählt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. zäher (CVCVC) and zählt (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between zäher and zählt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zäher is [ˈt͡sɛːɐ] 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 41850, 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]. 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 41850, this pair ranks #1,467,189 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zäher vs zählt
Shared letters: hzä. Private to "zäher": er. Private to "zählt": lt.
"zäher" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "zählt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zäher" and "zählt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "zäher" or "zählt" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "zäher" and "zählt" 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 "zählt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,467,189 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zäher" and "zählt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zäher vs Zählern". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,467,189 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.