Which to use
“Zeiger” is a noun and “zeigte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,974
- “Zeiger” frequency rank
- #1,648
- “zeigte” frequency rank
- 24622
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zeiger | zeigte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Teil eines Messgeräts oder einer Uhr, der den gemessenen Wert oder eine Richtung anzeigt (siehe auch Kompass, Navi oder Sextant) | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs zeigen |
Where the eye mixes Zeiger and zeigte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Zeiger (CVVCVC) and zeigte (CVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Zeiger with zeigte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zeiger is [ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡɐ] while zeigte is [ˈt͡saɪ̯ktə]. 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 24622, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Zeiger is recorded at frequency rank #22,974, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯ɡɐ]. zeigte is at rank #1,648, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯ktə].
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 24622, this pair ranks #1,845,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Zeiger vs zeigte
Shared letters: egiz. Private to "Zeiger": r. Private to "zeigte": t.
"Zeiger" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "zeigte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Zeiger" and "zeigte" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Zeiger" or "zeigte" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zeiger" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zeigte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,845,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zeiger" and "zeigte" 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 #1,845,036 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.