Which to use
“zielen” and “zielte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,031
- “zielen” frequency rank
- #26,709
- “zielte” frequency rank
- 32740
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zielen | zielte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas, oft eine Waffe, auf etwas ausrichten | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs zielen |
Where the eye mixes zielen and zielte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: zielen vs zielte
A purely visual mix-up. zielen ([ˈt͡siːlən]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32740, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zielen is recorded at frequency rank #6,031, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡siːlən]. 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 32740, this pair ranks #1,701,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zielen vs zielte
Shared letters: eilz. Private to "zielen": n. Private to "zielte": t.
"zielen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "zielte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zielen" and "zielte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "zielen" or "zielte"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "zielen" and "zielte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zielen" 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 #1,701,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zielen" 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 #1,701,033 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.