zollenvsZyklenWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

“zollen” is a verb and “Zyklen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,883
“zollen” frequency rank
#28,490
“Zyklen” frequency rank
59373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zollen Zyklen
Definition etwas erweisen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zyklus

Where the eye mixes zollen and Zyklen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
zollen
6 ch
Zyklen

Look-alike desk: zollen vs Zyklen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zollen is [ˈt͡sɔlən] while Zyklen is [ˈt͡syːklən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zollen is recorded at frequency rank #30,883, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡sɔlən]. Zyklen is at rank #28,490, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡syːklən].

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 59373, this pair ranks #826,942 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of zollen vs Zyklen

Shared letters: elnz. Private to "zollen": o. Private to "Zyklen": ky.

"zollen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Zyklen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zollenozllen · zlolen · zoleln · zolen · zollenn · zollne · zzollen
  • Zyklenyzklen · zkylen · zykeln · zykklen · zyklenn · zykllen · zyklne · zylken

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "zollen" and "Zyklen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "zollen" is a verb and "Zyklen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "zollen" or "Zyklen"?
"Zyklen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,490 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.

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 "zollen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Zyklen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #826,942 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zollen" and "Zyklen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zollen vs Zöllner". 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 #826,942 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