Which to use
“zeigt” is a verb and “Zeil” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #399
- “zeigt” frequency rank
- #30,399
- “Zeil” frequency rank
- 30798
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zeigt | Zeil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zeigen | eine große innerstädtische Einkaufsstraße in Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland |
Where the eye mixes zeigt and Zeil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. zeigt runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against Zeil's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses zeigt with Zeil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zeigt is [t͡saɪ̯kt] while Zeil is [t͡saɪ̯l]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zeigt is recorded at frequency rank #399, classified as averb, pronounced [t͡saɪ̯kt]. Zeil is at rank #30,399, tagged as aname, pronounced [t͡saɪ̯l].
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 30798, this pair ranks #1,740,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zeigt vs Zeil
Shared letters: eiz. Private to "zeigt": gt. Private to "Zeil": l.
"zeigt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "Zeil" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zeigt" and "Zeil" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "zeigt" or "Zeil" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "zeigt" and "Zeil" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zeigt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Zeil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,740,859 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zeigt" and "Zeil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zehe vs Zeil". 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 #1,740,859 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.