Which to use
“Zehner” is a noun and “zehntel” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,398
- “Zehner” frequency rank
- #22,220
- “zehntel” frequency rank
- 52618
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zehner | zehntel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit Größe, Wert, Maß oder Nummer 10 | aus einem von zehn gleich großen Teilen bestehend |
Where the eye mixes Zehner and zehntel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Zehner runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against zehntel's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Zehner with zehntel
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zehner is [ˈt͡seːnɐ] while zehntel is [ˈt͡seːntl̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52618, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Zehner is recorded at frequency rank #30,398, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡seːnɐ]. zehntel is at rank #22,220, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡seːntl̩].
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 52618, this pair ranks #1,089,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Zehner vs zehntel
Shared letters: ehnz. Private to "Zehner": r. Private to "zehntel": lt.
"Zehner" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "zehntel" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Zehner" for "zehntel" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Zehner" vs "zehntel" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Zehner" and "zehntel" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zehner" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zehntel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,089,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zehner" and "zehntel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zehe vs Zehner". 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 #1,089,786 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.