Zähne vs Zehe, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“Zähne” and “Zehe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,865
“Zähne” frequency rank: #43,650
“Zehe” frequency rank: 47515
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Zähne	Zehe
Definition	Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zahn	der einem Finger entsprechende Teil des Fußes

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Zähne and Zehe apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

Zähne

4 ch

Zehe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Zähne ([ˈt͡sɛːnə]) and Zehe ([ˈt͡seːə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47515, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zähne is recorded at frequency rank #3,865, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛːnə]. Zehe is at rank #43,650, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡seːə].

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 47515, this pair ranks #1,281,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Zähne vs Zehe

Shared letters: ehz. Private to "Zähne": nä. Private to "Zehe": -.

"Zähne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Zehe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

Zehe ← ezhe · zeeh · zehhe · zhee · zzehe

Frequency comparison

Zähne#3,865

Zehe#43,650

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Zähne" and "Zehe" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡sɛːnə] versus [ˈt͡seːə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "Zähne" or "Zehe"?

"Zähne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,865 in our German list, against #43,650 for "Zehe". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Zähne vs Zehe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Zähne” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable