Which to use
“zeugt” and “zeugte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,422
- “zeugt” frequency rank
- #47,147
- “zeugte” frequency rank
- 59569
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zeugt | zeugte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs zeugen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs zeugen |
Where the eye mixes zeugt and zeugte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. zeugt runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against zeugte's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: zeugt vs zeugte
A purely visual mix-up. zeugt ([t͡sɔɪ̯kt]) and zeugte ([ˈt͡sɔɪ̯ktə]) 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) - “zeugt” sits inside “zeugte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59569, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zeugt is recorded at frequency rank #12,422, classified as averb, pronounced [t͡sɔɪ̯kt]. zeugte is at rank #47,147, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡sɔɪ̯ktə].
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 59569, this pair ranks #819,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zeugt vs zeugte
Shared letters: egtuz. Private to "zeugt": -. Private to "zeugte": -.
"zeugt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "zeugte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zeugt" and "zeugte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "zeugt" or "zeugte" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "zeugt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zeugte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #819,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zeugt" and "zeugte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zeugs 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 #819,639 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.