Which to use
“zählte” is a verb and “Zehnte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,557
- “zählte” frequency rank
- #16,610
- “Zehnte” frequency rank
- 24167
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zählte | Zehnte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs zählen | eine etwa zehnprozentige traditionelle Steuer in Form von Geld oder Naturalien an eine Institution |
Where the eye mixes zählte and Zehnte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. zählte and Zehnte follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses zählte with Zehnte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zählte is [ˈt͡sɛːltə] while Zehnte is [t͡seːntə]. 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 24167, 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]. Zehnte is at rank #16,610, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡seːntə].
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 24167, this pair ranks #1,851,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zählte vs Zehnte
Shared letters: ehtz. Private to "zählte": lä. Private to "Zehnte": n.
"zählte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "Zehnte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Zehnte ← ezhnte · zehhnte · zehnet · zehnnte · zehntte · zehtne · zenhte · zhente
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "zählte" and "Zehnte" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "zählte" or "Zehnte" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "zählte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Zehnte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,851,465 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zählte" and "Zehnte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zehnte vs zeugte". 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 #1,851,465 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.