Which to use
“Zauber” and “Zauberei” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,303
- “Zauber” frequency rank
- #25,849
- “Zauberei” frequency rank
- 35152
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zauber | Zauberei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | übernatürliche Wirkung, magische Manipulation, die nicht den Naturgesetzen unterliegt; unerklärlicher Vorgang | Kunst/Fähigkeit des Zauberns |
Where the eye mixes Zauber and Zauberei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Zauber runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against Zauberei's 8 (CVVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Zauber and Zauberei
A purely visual mix-up. Zauber ([ˈt͡saʊ̯bɐ]) and Zauberei ([t͡saʊ̯bəˈʁaɪ̯]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Zauber” sits inside “Zauberei”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Zauber is recorded at frequency rank #9,303, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡saʊ̯bɐ]. Zauberei is at rank #25,849, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡saʊ̯bəˈʁaɪ̯].
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 35152, this pair ranks #1,646,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Zauber vs Zauberei
Shared letters: aberuz. Private to "Zauber": -. Private to "Zauberei": i.
"Zauber" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "Zauberei" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Zauber" and "Zauberei" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Zauber" or "Zauberei"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Zauber" and "Zauberei" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zauber" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Zauberei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,646,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zauber" and "Zauberei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zauberei vs zaubert". 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 #1,646,824 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.