Which to use
“zählt” is a verb and “Zehnt” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,499
- “zählt” frequency rank
- #41,593
- “Zehnt” frequency rank
- 43092
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zählt | Zehnt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zählen | eine vom Mittelalter bis ins 19. Jahrhundert von Laien an die Kirche zu zahlende Abgabe zur Unterhaltung des Klerus ursprünglich als Naturalsteuer, später als Vermögensabgabe ausgelegt |
Where the eye mixes zählt and Zehnt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. zählt and Zehnt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: zählt vs Zehnt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zählt is [t͡sɛːlt] while Zehnt is [t͡seːnt]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43092, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zählt is recorded at frequency rank #1,499, classified as averb, pronounced [t͡sɛːlt]. Zehnt is at rank #41,593, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡seːnt].
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 43092, this pair ranks #1,428,895 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zählt vs Zehnt
Shared letters: htz. Private to "zählt": lä. Private to "Zehnt": en.
"zählt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "Zehnt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Zehnt ← ezhnt · zehhnt · zehnnt · zehntt · zehtn · zenht · zhent · zzehnt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zählt" for "Zehnt" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "zählt" or "Zehnt" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "zählt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Zehnt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,428,895 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zählt" and "Zehnt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zehnt vs zerrt". 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 #1,428,895 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.