Which to use
“zählt” and “zielt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,499
- “zählt” frequency rank
- #11,365
- “zielt” frequency rank
- 12864
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zählt | zielt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zählen | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zielen |
Where the eye mixes zählt and zielt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses zählt with zielt
A purely visual mix-up. zählt ([t͡sɛːlt]) and zielt ([t͡siːlt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12864, 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]. zielt is at rank #11,365, tagged as averb, pronounced [t͡siːlt].
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 12864, this pair ranks #1,961,567 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zählt vs zielt
Shared letters: ltz. Private to "zählt": hä. Private to "zielt": ei.
"zählt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "zielt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- zielt ← izelt · zeilt · ziellt · zieltt · zietl · zilet · zzielt
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zählt" and "zielt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "zählt" or "zielt"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "zählt" and "zielt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zählt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zielt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,961,567 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zählt" and "zielt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zielt vs zier". 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 #1,961,567 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.