Which to use
“zeig” is a verb and “Zeit” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,028
- “zeig” frequency rank
- #101
- “Zeit” frequency rank
- 6129
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zeig | Zeit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zeigen | der stetige Ablauf von Zeiteinheiten |
Where the eye mixes zeig and Zeit
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. zeig and Zeit follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses zeig with Zeit
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zeig is [t͡saɪ̯k] while Zeit is [t͡saɪ̯t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “zeig” becomes t in “Zeit”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6129, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zeig is recorded at frequency rank #6,028, classified as averb, pronounced [t͡saɪ̯k]. Zeit is at rank #101, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡saɪ̯t].
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 6129, this pair ranks #1,992,626 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zeig vs Zeit
Shared letters: eiz. Private to "zeig": g. Private to "Zeit": t.
"zeig" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Zeit" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "zeig" and "Zeit" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "zeig" or "Zeit"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "zeig" and "Zeit" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zeig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Zeit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,992,626 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zeig" and "Zeit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zehe vs zeig". 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 #1,992,626 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.