Which to use
“zahm” is an adjective and “zehn” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #43,648
- “zahm” frequency rank
- #731
- “zehn” frequency rank
- 44379
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zahm | zehn |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an den Kontakt mit Menschen gewöhnt, friedlich gegenüber Menschen, dem Menschen trauend | die Kardinalzahl zwischen neun und elf |
Where the eye mixes zahm and zehn
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. zahm and zehn follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses zahm with zehn
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zahm is [t͡saːm] while zehn is [t͡seːn]. 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 (adjective vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44379, 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]. zehn is at rank #731, tagged as anum, pronounced [t͡seːn].
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 44379, this pair ranks #1,388,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zahm vs zehn
Shared letters: hz. Private to "zahm": am. Private to "zehn": en.
"zahm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "zehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zahm" and "zehn" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "zahm" or "zehn"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "zahm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zehn" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,388,043 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zahm" and "zehn" 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 #1,388,043 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.