zeigtevszweiteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: zeigte is a verb, zweite is a num, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“zeigte” is a verb and “zweite” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,648
“zeigte” frequency rank
#645
“zweite” frequency rank
2293
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zeigte zweite
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs zeigen nach dem beziehungsweise der ersten kommend; dem, der beziehungsweise des dritten vorausgehend

Where the eye mixes zeigte and zweite

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
zeigte
6 ch
zweite

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zeigte is [ˈt͡saɪ̯ktə] while zweite is [ˈt͡svaɪ̯tə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2293, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zeigte is recorded at frequency rank #1,648, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯ktə]. zweite is at rank #645, tagged as anum, pronounced [ˈt͡svaɪ̯tə].

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 2293, this pair ranks #2,002,685 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of zeigte vs zweite

Shared letters: eitz. Private to "zeigte": g. Private to "zweite": w.

"zeigte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "zweite" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zeigteezigte · zegite · zeiget · zeiggte · zeigtte · zeitge · ziegte · zzeigte
  • zweitewzeite · zewite · zweiet · zweitte · zwetie · zwiete · zwweite · zzweite

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zeigte" and "zweite" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "zeigte" is a verb and "zweite" a num, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "zeigte" or "zweite"?
"zweite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #645 in our German list, against #1,648 for "zeigte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "zeigte" and "zweite". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "zeigte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zweite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,002,685 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zeigte" and "zweite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zeigte vs zeugte". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list