Which to use
“zählte” and “zelte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,557
- “zählte” frequency rank
- #16,333
- “zelte” frequency rank
- 23890
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zählte | zelte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs zählen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zelten |
Same sound, different letters: zählte vs zelte
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters. zählte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against zelte's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - zählte / zelte
This is the hard kind. zählte and zelte are pronounced identically ([ˈt͡sɛːltə]) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23890, 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]. zelte is at rank #16,333, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛltə].
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 23890, this pair ranks #1,855,225 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zählte vs zelte
Shared letters: eltz. Private to "zählte": hä. Private to "zelte": -.
"zählte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "zelte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- zelte ← ezlte · zelet · zellte · zeltte · zetle · zlete · zzelte
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zählte" for "zelte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "zählte" or "zelte" show up more?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "zählte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zelte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,855,225 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zählte" and "zelte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zelte 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 #1,855,225 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.