ZollvszollenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Zoll is a noun, zollen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Zoll and zollen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Zoll
6 ch
zollen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • Zollozll · zlol · zol · zzoll
  • zollenozllen · zlolen · zoleln · zolen · zollenn · zollne · zzollen

Frequency comparison

Zoll#3,630
zollen#30,883

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Zoll" and "zollen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Zoll" is a noun and "zollen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Zoll" or "zollen"?
"Zoll" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,630 in our German list, against #30,883 for "zollen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Zoll vs zollen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Zoll”; for a verb, it's “zollen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Zoll” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list