Which to use
“zeichnen” and “zeichnete” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,319
- “zeichnen” frequency rank
- #10,400
- “zeichnete” frequency rank
- 14719
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zeichnen | zeichnete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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 | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs zeichnen |
Where the eye mixes zeichnen and zeichnete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. zeichnen runs 8 letters (CVVCCCVC) against zeichnete's 9 (CVVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: zeichnen vs zeichnete
A purely visual mix-up. zeichnen ([ˈt͡saɪ̯çnən]) and zeichnete ([ˈt͡saɪ̯çnətə]) 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 14719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zeichnen is recorded at frequency rank #4,319, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯çnən]. zeichnete is at rank #10,400, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯çnətə].
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 14719, this pair ranks #1,949,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zeichnen vs zeichnete
Shared letters: cehinz. Private to "zeichnen": -. Private to "zeichnete": t.
"zeichnen" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC · "zeichnete" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zeichnen" and "zeichnete" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "zeichnen" vs "zeichnete" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "zeichnen" and "zeichnete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zeichnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zeichnete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,949,222 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zeichnen" and "zeichnete" 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 #1,949,222 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.