Which to use
“Zehe” and “Zeug” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,650
- “Zehe” frequency rank
- #2,323
- “Zeug” frequency rank
- 45973
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zehe | Zeug |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | der einem Finger entsprechende Teil des Fußes | Gegenstände aller Art, Material, Gerät |
Where the eye mixes Zehe and Zeug
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Zehe (CVCV) and Zeug (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Zehe with Zeug
A purely visual mix-up. Zehe ([ˈt͡seːə]) and Zeug ([t͡sɔɪ̯k]) 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 45973, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Zehe is recorded at frequency rank #43,650, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡seːə]. Zeug is at rank #2,323, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡sɔɪ̯k].
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 45973, this pair ranks #1,334,862 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Zehe vs Zeug
Shared letters: ez. Private to "Zehe": h. Private to "Zeug": gu.
"Zehe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Zeug" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Zehe" and "Zeug" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Zehe" or "Zeug" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zehe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Zeug" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,334,862 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zehe" and "Zeug" 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 #1,334,862 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.