ziehevsziehstWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,030
“ziehe” frequency rank
#13,987
“ziehst” frequency rank
20017
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ziehe ziehst
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ziehen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ziehen

Where the eye mixes ziehe and ziehst

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

5 ch
ziehe
6 ch
ziehst

Why the eye confuses ziehe with ziehst

A purely visual mix-up. ziehe ([ˈt͡siːə]) and ziehst ([t͡siːst]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ziehe is recorded at frequency rank #6,030, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡siːə]. ziehst is at rank #13,987, tagged as averb, pronounced [t͡siːst].

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 20017, this pair ranks #1,902,195 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ziehe vs ziehst

Shared letters: ehiz. Private to "ziehe": -. Private to "ziehst": st.

"ziehe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "ziehst" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zieheizehe · zeihe · zieeh · ziehhe · zihee · zziehe
  • ziehstizehst · zeihst · ziehhst · ziehsst · ziehstt · ziehts · ziesht · zihest

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ziehe" and "ziehst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡siːə] versus [t͡siːst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ziehe" or "ziehst"?
"ziehe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,030 in our German list, against #13,987 for "ziehst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ziehe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ziehst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,902,195 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ziehe" and "ziehst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zehnt vs ziehst". 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 #1,902,195 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