Which to use
“Zelt” is a noun and “zelte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,616
- “Zelt” frequency rank
- #16,333
- “zelte” frequency rank
- 22949
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zelt | zelte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zum leichten Aufstellen und Abbauen gedachte Konstruktion aus stabilen Stangen und Stoff- oder Kunststoffbahnen als vorübergehende Behausung | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zelten |
Where the eye mixes Zelt and zelte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Zelt and zelte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zelt is [t͡sɛlt] while zelte is [ˈt͡sɛltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Zelt” sits inside “zelte”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Zelt is recorded at frequency rank #6,616, classified as anoun, pronounced [t͡sɛlt]. zelte is at rank #16,333, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛltə].
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 22949, this pair ranks #1,867,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Zelt vs zelte
Shared letters: eltz. Private to "Zelt": -. Private to "zelte": -.
"Zelt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "zelte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Zelt" for "zelte" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Zelt" or "zelte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zelt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zelte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,867,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zelt" and "zelte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zelte 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
Confusion rank #1,867,641 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.