ZehvszigTell them apart

Which to use

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

#19,460
“Zeh” frequency rank
#13,527
“zig” frequency rank
32987
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zeh zig
Definition der einem Finger entsprechende Teil des Fußes (sehr) viele

Where the eye mixes Zeh and zig

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
Zeh
3 ch
zig

Look-alike desk: Zeh vs zig

A purely visual mix-up. Zeh ([t͡seː]) and zig ([t͡sɪç]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32987, 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]. zig is at rank #13,527, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡sɪç].

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 32987, this pair ranks #1,695,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Zeh vs zig

Shared letters: z. Private to "Zeh": eh. Private to "zig": gi.

"Zeh" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "zig" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Zeh" for "zig" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([t͡seː] versus [t͡sɪç]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Zeh" or "zig" show up more?
"zig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,527 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.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Zeh" and "zig" 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 "zig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,695,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Zeh" and "zig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zähe vs Zeh". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,695,768 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