Which to use
“Zeichen” is a noun and “zeigten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,148
- “Zeichen” frequency rank
- #4,089
- “zeigten” frequency rank
- 5237
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zeichen | zeigten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas sinnlich Vernehmbares, das als Hinweis für etwas dient | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs zeigen |
Where the eye mixes Zeichen and zeigten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Zeichen and zeigten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between Zeichen and zeigten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zeichen is [ˈt͡saɪ̯çn̩] while zeigten is [ˈt͡saɪ̯ktn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5237, 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]. zeigten is at rank #4,089, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯ktn̩].
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 5237, this pair ranks #1,995,393 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Zeichen vs zeigten
Shared letters: einz. Private to "Zeichen": ch. Private to "zeigten": gt.
"Zeichen" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "zeigten" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Zeichen" and "zeigten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Zeichen" or "zeigten"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zeichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zeigten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,995,393 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zeichen" and "zeigten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zeigten vs zeugte". 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 #1,995,393 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.