Which to use
“Zecken” is a noun and “zeigen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,492
- “Zecken” frequency rank
- #448
- “zeigen” frequency rank
- 21940
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zecken | zeigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zecke | jemanden etwas sehen lassen |
Where the eye mixes Zecken and zeigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Zecken (CVCCVC) and zeigen (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: Zecken vs zeigen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zecken is [ˈt͡sɛkn̩] while zeigen is [ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡn̩]. 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 21940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Zecken is recorded at frequency rank #21,492, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛkn̩]. zeigen is at rank #448, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡn̩].
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 21940, this pair ranks #1,880,326 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Zecken vs zeigen
Shared letters: enz. Private to "Zecken": ck. Private to "zeigen": gi.
"Zecken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "zeigen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Zecken" and "zeigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Zecken" or "zeigen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zeigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,880,326 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zecken" and "zeigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zechen vs Zecken". 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 #1,880,326 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.