Which to use
“Zahl” is a noun and “zähle” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #730
- “Zahl” frequency rank
- #12,847
- “zähle” frequency rank
- 13577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zahl | zähle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | numerischer Wert, Quantität (das Wieviel) | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zählen |
Where the eye mixes Zahl and zähle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Zahl runs 4 letters (CVCC) against zähle's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Zahl and zähle
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zahl is [t͡saːl] while zähle is [ˈt͡sɛːlə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Zahl is recorded at frequency rank #730, classified as anoun, pronounced [t͡saːl]. 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 13577, this pair ranks #1,957,094 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Zahl vs zähle
Shared letters: hlz. Private to "Zahl": a. Private to "zähle": eä.
"Zahl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "zähle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Zahl ← azhl · zahhl · zahll · zalh · zhal · zzahl
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Zahl" and "zähle" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Zahl" vs "zähle" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zahl" 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 #1,957,094 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zahl" and "zähle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zähle vs Zählern". 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 #1,957,094 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.