Which to use
“Zoll” is a noun and “zollen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,630
- “Zoll” frequency rank
- #30,883
- “zollen” frequency rank
- 34513
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zoll | zollen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Abgabe oder Steuer für bzw. auf die Einfuhr beziehungsweise Ausfuhr von Waren in ein abgegrenztes, hoheitliches Gebiet Gegenleistung, Preis, Lehrgeld | etwas erweisen |
Where the eye mixes Zoll and zollen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Zoll runs 4 letters (CVCC) against zollen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Zoll vs zollen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zoll is [t͡sɔl] while zollen is [ˈt͡sɔlən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Zoll” sits inside “zollen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34513, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Zoll is recorded at frequency rank #3,630, classified as anoun, pronounced [t͡sɔl]. zollen is at rank #30,883, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡sɔlən].
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 34513, this pair ranks #1,661,655 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Zoll vs zollen
Shared letters: loz. Private to "Zoll": -. Private to "zollen": en.
"Zoll" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "zollen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Zoll" and "zollen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Zoll" vs "zollen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zoll" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zollen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,661,655 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zoll" and "zollen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zollen vs Zyklen". 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 #1,661,655 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.