ZOBvszurTell them apart

Which to use

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

#42,968
“ZOB” frequency rank
#66
“zur” frequency rank
43034
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ZOB zur
Definition Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof Kurzform von „zu der“

Where the eye mixes ZOB and zur

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. ZOB and zur follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
ZOB
3 ch
zur

Why the eye confuses ZOB with zur

A purely visual mix-up. ZOB ([t͡sɛtʔoːˈbeː]) and zur ([t͡suːɐ̯]) 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 43034, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ZOB is recorded at frequency rank #42,968, classified as anabbrev, pronounced [t͡sɛtʔoːˈbeː]. zur is at rank #66, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [t͡suːɐ̯].

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 43034, this pair ranks #1,430,656 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ZOB vs zur

Shared letters: z. Private to "ZOB": bo. Private to "zur": ru.

"ZOB" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "zur" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ZOB" and "zur" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t͡sɛtʔoːˈbeː] versus [t͡suːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ZOB" vs "zur" - which ranks higher?
"zur" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #66 in our German list, against #42,968 for "ZOB". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ZOB" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,430,656 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ZOB" and "zur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ZOB vs Zobel". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,430,656 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