zeitgleichvszeitlichTell them apart

Which to use

“zeitgleich” and “zeitlich” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,552
“zeitgleich” frequency rank
#6,132
“zeitlich” frequency rank
13684
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zeitgleich zeitlich
Definition zur gleichen Zeit seiend; gleichzeitig auf die Zeit oder einen Zeitpunkt bezogen

Where the eye mixes zeitgleich and zeitlich

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. zeitgleich runs 10 letters (CVVCCCVVCC) against zeitlich's 8 (CVVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
zeitgleich
8 ch
zeitlich

Why the eye confuses zeitgleich with zeitlich

A purely visual mix-up. zeitgleich ([ˈt͡saɪ̯tˌɡlaɪ̯ç]) and zeitlich ([ˈt͡saɪ̯tlɪç]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13684, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zeitgleich is recorded at frequency rank #7,552, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯tˌɡlaɪ̯ç]. zeitlich is at rank #6,132, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯tlɪç].

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 13684, this pair ranks #1,956,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of zeitgleich vs zeitlich

Shared letters: cehiltz. Private to "zeitgleich": g. Private to "zeitlich": -.

"zeitgleich" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCCVVCC  ·  "zeitlich" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zeitgleich ← ezitgleich · zeigtleich · zeitgelich · zeitggleich · zeitglecih · zeitgleicch · zeitgleichh · zeitgleihc
  • zeitlich ← ezitlich · zeiltich · zeitilch · zeitlcih · zeitlicch · zeitlichh · zeitlihc · zeitllich

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "zeitgleich" and "zeitlich" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡saɪ̯tˌɡlaɪ̯ç] versus [ˈt͡saɪ̯tlɪç]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "zeitgleich" or "zeitlich"?
"zeitlich" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,132 in our German list, against #7,552 for "zeitgleich". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "zeitgleich" and "zeitlich" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "zeitgleich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zeitlich" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,956,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zeitgleich" and "zeitlich" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zeitlich vs zeitlicher". 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 #1,956,406 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list