Which to use
“ziehe” and “zielen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,030
- “ziehe” frequency rank
- #6,031
- “zielen” frequency rank
- 12061
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ziehe | zielen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ziehen | etwas, oft eine Waffe, auf etwas ausrichten |
Where the eye mixes ziehe and zielen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ziehe runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against zielen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ziehe and zielen
A purely visual mix-up. ziehe ([ˈt͡siːə]) and zielen ([ˈt͡siːlən]) 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 12061, 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]. zielen is at rank #6,031, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡siːlən].
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 12061, this pair ranks #1,966,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ziehe vs zielen
Shared letters: eiz. Private to "ziehe": h. Private to "zielen": ln.
"ziehe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "zielen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ziehe" and "zielen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ziehe" or "zielen"?
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 "ziehe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zielen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,966,406 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ziehe" and "zielen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zähe vs ziehe". 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 #1,966,406 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.