Which to use
“zeichnet” and “zeichnete” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,754
- “zeichnet” frequency rank
- #10,400
- “zeichnete” frequency rank
- 15154
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zeichnet | zeichnete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens des Verbs zeichnen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs zeichnen |
Where the eye mixes zeichnet and zeichnete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. zeichnet 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.
Why the eye confuses zeichnet with zeichnete
A purely visual mix-up. zeichnet ([ˈt͡saɪ̯çnət]) 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 extra letter(s) - “zeichnet” sits inside “zeichnete”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15154, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zeichnet is recorded at frequency rank #4,754, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯çnət]. 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 15154, this pair ranks #1,945,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zeichnet vs zeichnete
Shared letters: cehintz. Private to "zeichnet": -. Private to "zeichnete": -.
"zeichnet" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC · "zeichnete" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zeichnet" for "zeichnete" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "zeichnet" or "zeichnete" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "zeichnet" and "zeichnete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zeichnet" 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 #1,945,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zeichnet" and "zeichnete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zeichnete vs zeichneten". 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 #1,945,996 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.