Which to use
“zelte” and “zelten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,333
- “zelte” frequency rank
- #18,132
- “zelten” frequency rank
- 34465
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zelte | zelten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zelten | in einem Zelt wohnen |
Where the eye mixes zelte and zelten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between zelte and zelten
A purely visual mix-up. zelte ([ˈt͡sɛltə]) and zelten ([ˈt͡sɛltn̩]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “zelte” sits inside “zelten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34465, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zelte is recorded at frequency rank #16,333, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛltə]. zelten is at rank #18,132, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡sɛltn̩].
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 34465, this pair ranks #1,662,745 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zelte vs zelten
Shared letters: eltz. Private to "zelte": -. Private to "zelten": n.
"zelte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "zelten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zelte" for "zelten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "zelte" or "zelten" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "zelte" and "zelten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zelte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zelten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,662,745 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zelte" and "zelten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zechen vs zelten". 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 #1,662,745 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.