Which to use
“zahm” is an adjective and “Zähne” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,648
- “zahm” frequency rank
- #3,865
- “Zähne” frequency rank
- 47513
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zahm | Zähne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an den Kontakt mit Menschen gewöhnt, friedlich gegenüber Menschen, dem Menschen trauend | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zahn |
Where the eye mixes zahm and Zähne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. zahm runs 4 letters (CVCC) against Zähne's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between zahm and Zähne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zahm is [t͡saːm] 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47513, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zahm is recorded at frequency rank #43,648, classified as anadj, pronounced [t͡saːm]. 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 47513, this pair ranks #1,281,638 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zahm vs Zähne
Shared letters: hz. Private to "zahm": am. Private to "Zähne": enä.
"zahm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Zähne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- zahm ← azhm · zahhm · zahmm · zamh · zham · zzahm
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zahm" for "Zähne" ever safe?
Frequency check: "zahm" vs "Zähne" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "zahm" 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 #1,281,638 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zahm" and "Zähne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zahm vs zapf". 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 #1,281,638 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.