Which to use
“Zeichen” is a noun and “zeichnen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,148
- “Zeichen” frequency rank
- #4,319
- “zeichnen” frequency rank
- 5467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zeichen | zeichnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas sinnlich Vernehmbares, das als Hinweis für etwas dient | eine bildliche Darstellung mittels Stift, Kohle, Kreide und Ähnlichem oder mittels stiftbasierter Eingabegeräte (Touchpens), virtuellem Stift beziehungsweise Mausklick vornehmlich in Linien und Strichen von etwas oder jemandem (künstlerisch) anfertigen, welche sich letztlich als Zeichnung oder Grafik vermittelt |
Where the eye mixes Zeichen and zeichnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Zeichen runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against zeichnen's 8 (CVVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Zeichen with zeichnen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zeichen is [ˈt͡saɪ̯çn̩] while zeichnen is [ˈt͡saɪ̯çnən]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Zeichen is recorded at frequency rank #1,148, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯çn̩]. zeichnen is at rank #4,319, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯çnən].
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 5467, this pair ranks #1,994,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Zeichen vs zeichnen
Shared letters: cehinz. Private to "Zeichen": -. Private to "zeichnen": -.
"Zeichen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "zeichnen" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Zeichen" for "zeichnen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Zeichen" or "zeichnen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Zeichen" and "zeichnen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zeichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zeichnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,994,669 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zeichen" and "zeichnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zechen vs zeichnen". 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 #1,994,669 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.