ZechevsZeheTell them apart

Which to use

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

#20,470
“Zeche” frequency rank
#43,650
“Zehe” frequency rank
64120
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zeche Zehe
Definition Anlage, um wertvolle Materialien aus der Erde zu gewinnen der einem Finger entsprechende Teil des Fußes

Where the eye mixes Zeche and Zehe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Zeche runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Zehe's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Zeche
4 ch
Zehe

Visual trap between Zeche and Zehe

A purely visual mix-up. Zeche ([ˈt͡sɛçə]) 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 64120, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zeche is recorded at frequency rank #20,470, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛçə]. 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 64120, this pair ranks #652,733 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Zeche vs Zehe

Shared letters: ehz. Private to "Zeche": c. Private to "Zehe": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Zeche ← ezche · zcehe · zecche · zeceh · zechhe · zehce · zzeche
  • Zehe ← ezhe · zeeh · zehhe · zhee · zzehe

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Zeche" and "Zehe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡sɛçə] versus [ˈt͡seːə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Zeche" or "Zehe"?
"Zeche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,470 in our German list, against #43,650 for "Zehe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Zeche" and "Zehe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Zeche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Zehe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #652,733 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Zeche" and "Zehe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zechen vs Zehe". 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 #652,733 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