ZangevszeigeTell them apart

Quick tell: Zange is a noun, zeige is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Zange” is a noun and “zeige” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,999
“Zange” frequency rank
#4,400
“zeige” frequency rank
29399
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zange zeige
Definition ein Werkzeug aus zwei ineinandergreifenden Backen, welche nach unten hin für die händische Bedienung als Schenkel verlängert sind 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zeigen

Where the eye mixes Zange and zeige

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Zange (CVCCV) and zeige (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Zange
5 ch
zeige

Visual trap between Zange and zeige

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zange is [ˈt͡saŋə] while zeige is [ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29399, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zange is recorded at frequency rank #24,999, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡saŋə]. zeige is at rank #4,400, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡə].

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 29399, this pair ranks #1,767,504 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Zange vs zeige

Shared letters: egz. Private to "Zange": an. Private to "zeige": i.

"Zange" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "zeige" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Zange ← aznge · zagne · zaneg · zangge · zannge · znage · zzange
  • zeige ← ezige · zegie · zeieg · zeigge · zzeige

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Zange" for "zeige" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Zange" is a noun and "zeige" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Zange" or "zeige"?
"zeige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,400 in our German list, against #24,999 for "Zange". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Zange" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zeige" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,767,504 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Zange" and "zeige" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zähe vs Zange". 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 #1,767,504 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list