ZehenvsZeitenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#12,420
“Zehen” frequency rank
#872
“Zeiten” frequency rank
13292
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zehen Zeiten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zehe Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zeit

Where the eye mixes Zehen and Zeiten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Zehen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Zeiten's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Zehen
6 ch
Zeiten

Look-alike desk: Zehen vs Zeiten

A purely visual mix-up. Zehen ([ˈt͡seːən]) and Zeiten ([ˈt͡saɪ̯tən]) 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 13292, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zehen is recorded at frequency rank #12,420, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡seːən]. Zeiten is at rank #872, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯tən].

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 13292, this pair ranks #1,958,909 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Zehen vs Zeiten

Shared letters: enz. Private to "Zehen": h. Private to "Zeiten": it.

"Zehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Zeiten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Zehen ← ezhen · zeehn · zehenn · zehhen · zehne · zheen · zzehen
  • Zeiten ← eziten · zeietn · zeitenn · zeitne · zeitten · zetien · zieten · zzeiten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Zehen" and "Zeiten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡seːən] versus [ˈt͡saɪ̯tən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Zehen" vs "Zeiten" - which ranks higher?
"Zeiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #872 in our German list, against #12,420 for "Zehen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Zehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Zeiten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,958,909 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Zehen" and "Zeiten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zechen vs Zehen". 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 #1,958,909 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