zeitigvsZeitzTell them apart

Quick tell: zeitig is a adjective, Zeitz is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“zeitig” is an adjective and “Zeitz” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,706
“zeitig” frequency rank
#25,409
“Zeitz” frequency rank
52115
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zeitig Zeitz
Definition zu einem relativ frühen Zeitpunkt, verhältnismäßig früh eine Stadt in Sachsen-Anhalt, Deutschland

Where the eye mixes zeitig and Zeitz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. zeitig runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against Zeitz's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
zeitig
5 ch
Zeitz

Visual trap between zeitig and Zeitz

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zeitig is [ˈt͡saɪ̯tɪç] while Zeitz is [t͡saɪ̯t͡s]. 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 (adjective vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zeitig is recorded at frequency rank #26,706, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡saɪ̯tɪç]. Zeitz is at rank #25,409, tagged as aname, pronounced [t͡saɪ̯t͡s].

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 52115, this pair ranks #1,109,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of zeitig vs Zeitz

Shared letters: eitz. Private to "zeitig": g. Private to "Zeitz": -.

"zeitig" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Zeitz" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zeitig ← ezitig · zeiitg · zeitgi · zeitigg · zeittig · zetiig · zietig · zzeitig
  • Zeitz ← ezitz · zeittz · zeitzz · zeizt · zetiz · zietz · zzeitz

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "zeitig" for "Zeitz" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "zeitig" is an adjective and "Zeitz" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "zeitig" vs "Zeitz" - which ranks higher?
"Zeitz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,409 in our German list, against #26,706 for "zeitig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "zeitig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Zeitz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,109,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zeitig" and "Zeitz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zeil vs Zeitz". 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 #1,109,411 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