zevsZeusWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ze is a pronoun, Zeus is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ze” is a pronoun and “Zeus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,459
“ze” frequency rank
#16,612
“Zeus” frequency rank
36071
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ze Zeus
Definition unbetonte Form des Personalpronomens zij (Subjektform der dritten Person Singular Femininum): sie höchster der olympischen Götter, Himmels- und Wettergott. Gatte der Hera.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ze and Zeus apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
ze
4 ch
Zeus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ze is [zə] while Zeus is [t͡sɔɪ̯s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ze” sits inside “Zeus”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36071, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ze is recorded at frequency rank #19,459, classified as apron, pronounced [zə]. Zeus is at rank #16,612, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡sɔɪ̯s].

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 36071, this pair ranks #1,624,663 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ze vs Zeus

Shared letters: ez. Private to "ze": -. Private to "Zeus": su.

"ze" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "Zeus" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Zeusezus · zesu · zeuss · zues · zzeus

Frequency comparison

ze#19,459
Zeus#16,612

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ze" and "Zeus" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ze" is a pronoun and "Zeus" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ze" or "Zeus"?
"Zeus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,612 in our German list, against #19,459 for "ze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ze vs Zeus

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “ze”; for a noun, it's “Zeus”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ze” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list