zehntelvszehntenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#22,220
“zehntel” frequency rank
#9,304
“zehnten” frequency rank
31524
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zehntel zehnten
Definition aus einem von zehn gleich großen Teilen bestehend Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs zehnte

Where the eye mixes zehntel and zehnten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. zehntel and zehnten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
zehntel
7 ch
zehnten

Why the eye confuses zehntel with zehnten

A purely visual mix-up. zehntel ([ˈt͡seːntl̩]) and zehnten ([ˈt͡seːntn̩]) 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 a single letter - l in “zehntel” becomes n in “zehnten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31524, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zehntel is recorded at frequency rank #22,220, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡seːntl̩]. zehnten is at rank #9,304, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡seːntn̩].

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 31524, this pair ranks #1,726,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of zehntel vs zehnten

Shared letters: ehntz. Private to "zehntel": l. Private to "zehnten": -.

"zehntel" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "zehnten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zehntel ← ezhntel · zehhntel · zehnetl · zehnntel · zehntell · zehntle · zehnttel · zehtnel
  • zehnten ← ezhnten · zehhnten · zehnetn · zehnnten · zehntenn · zehntne · zehntten · zehtnen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "zehntel" and "zehnten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡seːntl̩] versus [ˈt͡seːntn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "zehntel" or "zehnten"?
"zehnten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,304 in our German list, against #22,220 for "zehntel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "zehntel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zehnten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,726,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zehntel" and "zehnten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zehnt vs zehntel". 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 #1,726,349 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