Which to use
“zeigen” is a verb and “Zeiger” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #448
- “zeigen” frequency rank
- #22,974
- “Zeiger” frequency rank
- 23422
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zeigen | Zeiger |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden etwas sehen lassen | Teil eines Messgeräts oder einer Uhr, der den gemessenen Wert oder eine Richtung anzeigt (siehe auch Kompass, Navi oder Sextant) |
Where the eye mixes zeigen and Zeiger
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. zeigen and Zeiger follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: zeigen vs Zeiger
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zeigen is [ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡn̩] while Zeiger is [ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “zeigen” becomes r in “Zeiger”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zeigen is recorded at frequency rank #448, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡn̩]. Zeiger is at rank #22,974, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡɐ].
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 23422, this pair ranks #1,861,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zeigen vs Zeiger
Shared letters: egiz. Private to "zeigen": n. Private to "Zeiger": r.
"zeigen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "Zeiger" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "zeigen" and "Zeiger" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "zeigen" or "Zeiger" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "zeigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Zeiger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,861,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zeigen" and "Zeiger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zeiger vs zier". 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 #1,861,527 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.