ZofevsZollTell them apart

Which to use

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

#47,152
“Zofe” frequency rank
#3,630
“Zoll” frequency rank
50782
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zofe Zoll
Definition Bedienstete einer vornehmen, höhergestellten Dame, Herrin Abgabe oder Steuer für bzw. auf die Einfuhr beziehungsweise Ausfuhr von Waren in ein abgegrenztes, hoheitliches Gebiet Gegenleistung, Preis, Lehrgeld

Where the eye mixes Zofe and Zoll

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Zofe (CVCV) and Zoll (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
Zofe
4 ch
Zoll

Look-alike desk: Zofe vs Zoll

A purely visual mix-up. Zofe ([ˈt͡soːfə]) and Zoll ([t͡sɔl]) 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 50782, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zofe is recorded at frequency rank #47,152, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡soːfə]. Zoll is at rank #3,630, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡sɔl].

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 50782, this pair ranks #1,160,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Zofe vs Zoll

Shared letters: oz. Private to "Zofe": ef. Private to "Zoll": l.

"Zofe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Zoll" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Zofe ← ozfe · zfoe · zoef · zoffe · zzofe
  • Zoll ← ozll · zlol · zol · zzoll

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Zofe" and "Zoll" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡soːfə] versus [t͡sɔl]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Zofe" or "Zoll" show up more?
"Zoll" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,630 in our German list, against #47,152 for "Zofe". 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 "Zofe" and "Zoll" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Zofe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Zoll" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,160,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Zofe" and "Zoll" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zobel vs Zofe". 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 #1,160,714 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