ZehvsZOBTell them apart

Quick tell: Zeh is a noun, ZOB is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Zeh” is a noun and “ZOB” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,460
“Zeh” frequency rank
#42,968
“ZOB” frequency rank
62428
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zeh ZOB
Definition der einem Finger entsprechende Teil des Fußes Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof

Where the eye mixes Zeh and ZOB

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. Zeh and ZOB follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
Zeh
3 ch
ZOB

Look-alike desk: Zeh vs ZOB

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zeh is [t͡seː] while ZOB is [t͡sɛtʔoːˈbeː]. 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 abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62428, 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]. ZOB is at rank #42,968, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [t͡sɛtʔoːˈbeː].

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 62428, this pair ranks #713,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Zeh vs ZOB

Shared letters: z. Private to "Zeh": eh. Private to "ZOB": bo.

"Zeh" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "ZOB" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Zeh" for "ZOB" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Zeh" is a noun and "ZOB" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Zeh" or "ZOB"?
"Zeh" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,460 in our German list, against #42,968 for "ZOB". 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 "ZOB" 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 "ZOB" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #713,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Zeh" and "ZOB" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ZOB vs Zobel". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #713,244 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