ZahlvsZähneWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Zahl” and “Zähne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#730
“Zahl” frequency rank
#3,865
“Zähne” frequency rank
4595
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zahl Zähne
Definition numerischer Wert, Quantität (das Wieviel) Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zahn

Where the eye mixes Zahl and Zähne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Zahl
5 ch
Zähne

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Zahl ([t͡saːl]) and Zähne ([ˈt͡sɛːnə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zahl is recorded at frequency rank #730, classified as anoun, pronounced [t͡saːl]. Zähne is at rank #3,865, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛːnə].

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 4595, this pair ranks #1,997,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Zahl vs Zähne

Shared letters: hz. Private to "Zahl": al. Private to "Zähne": enä.

"Zahl" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Zähne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Zahlazhl · zahhl · zahll · zalh · zhal · zzahl

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Zahl" and "Zähne" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t͡saːl] versus [ˈt͡sɛːnə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Zahl" or "Zähne"?
"Zahl" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #730 in our German list, against #3,865 for "Zähne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Zahl" and "Zähne". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Zahl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Zähne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,997,254 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Zahl" and "Zähne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zahl vs zapf". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list