Which to use
“zechen” is a verb and “Zecke” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,646
- “zechen” frequency rank
- #43,649
- “Zecke” frequency rank
- 92295
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zechen | Zecke |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (meist in der Gruppe) übermäßig viel Alkohol trinken | parasitisch lebendes Spinnentier |
Where the eye mixes zechen and Zecke
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. zechen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Zecke's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: zechen vs Zecke
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zechen is [ˈt͡sɛçn̩] while Zecke is [ˈt͡sɛkə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 92295, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zechen is recorded at frequency rank #48,646, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛçn̩]. Zecke is at rank #43,649, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛkə].
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 92295, this pair ranks #30,903 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of zechen vs Zecke
Shared letters: cez. Private to "zechen": hn. Private to "Zecke": k.
"zechen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Zecke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zechen" for "Zecke" ever safe?
Frequency check: "zechen" vs "Zecke" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "zechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Zecke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #30,903 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zechen" and "Zecke" 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 #30,903 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.