Which to use
“zieht” and “zielte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,066
- “zieht” frequency rank
- #26,709
- “zielte” frequency rank
- 27775
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zieht | zielte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ziehen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs zielen |
Where the eye mixes zieht and zielte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. zieht runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against zielte's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses zieht with zielte
A purely visual mix-up. zieht ([t͡siːt]) and zielte ([ˈt͡siːltə]) 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 27775, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zieht is recorded at frequency rank #1,066, classified as averb, pronounced [t͡siːt]. zielte is at rank #26,709, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡siːltə].
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 27775, this pair ranks #1,796,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zieht vs zielte
Shared letters: eitz. Private to "zieht": h. Private to "zielte": l.
"zieht" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "zielte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zieht" and "zielte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "zieht" vs "zielte" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "zieht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zielte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,796,120 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zieht" and "zielte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ziels vs zielte". 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 #1,796,120 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.