ZehvsZeusTell them apart

Which to use

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

#19,460
“Zeh” frequency rank
#16,612
“Zeus” frequency rank
36072
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zeh Zeus
Definition der einem Finger entsprechende Teil des Fußes höchster der olympischen Götter, Himmels- und Wettergott. Gatte der Hera.

Where the eye mixes Zeh and Zeus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Zeh runs 3 letters (CVC) against Zeus's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
Zeh
4 ch
Zeus

Visual trap between Zeh and Zeus

A purely visual mix-up. Zeh ([t͡seː]) and Zeus ([t͡sɔɪ̯s]) 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 36072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zeh is recorded at frequency rank #19,460, classified as anoun, pronounced [t͡seː]. 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 36072, this pair ranks #1,624,632 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Zeh vs Zeus

Shared letters: ez. Private to "Zeh": h. Private to "Zeus": su.

"Zeh" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Zeus" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Zeus ← ezus · zesu · zeuss · zues · zzeus

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Zeh" for "Zeus" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([t͡seː] versus [t͡sɔɪ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Zeh" or "Zeus" show up more?
"Zeus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,612 in our German list, against #19,460 for "Zeh". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Zeh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Zeus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,624,632 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Zeh" and "Zeus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zähe vs Zeh". 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 #1,624,632 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