Which to use
“zählte” is a verb and “Zähne” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,557
- “zählte” frequency rank
- #3,865
- “Zähne” frequency rank
- 11422
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zählte | Zähne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs zählen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zahn |
Where the eye mixes zählte and Zähne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. zählte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against Zähne's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: zählte vs Zähne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zählte is [ˈt͡sɛːltə] while Zähne is [ˈt͡sɛːnə]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zählte is recorded at frequency rank #7,557, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛːltə]. 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 11422, this pair ranks #1,969,944 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zählte vs Zähne
Shared letters: ehzä. Private to "zählte": lt. Private to "Zähne": n.
"zählte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "Zähne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "zählte" and "Zähne" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "zählte" vs "Zähne" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "zählte" and "Zähne" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zählte" 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 #1,969,944 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zählte" and "Zähne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zähe vs zählte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,969,944 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.