All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| zahlen | Pay an amount | A price, rent, tax or restaurant payment | No separable prefix; einen Betrag zahlen; hat gezahlt |
| bezahlen | Pay for something; pay someone | An order, bill, service or worker | Inseparable be-; etwas/jemanden bezahlen; hat bezahlt |
| zählen | Count; matter; rely on | Counting items, valid scores and support | No separable prefix; etwas zählen; zählen auf + accusative |
zahlen
Meaning and usage: A sum or price is a common direct object. The verb also fits rent, taxes and other regular payments. In a restaurant, Bitte zahlen is a normal way to ask to settle the bill; you do not need to specify the amount.
Grammar: Use an accusative amount or payment: zwanzig Euro zahlen. Für + accusative can name what the payment covers. You can name a recipient in the dative or with an + accusative. Perfect: hat gezahlt.
Für das Bahnticket habe ich achtzehn Euro gezahlt.
I paid eighteen euros for the train ticket.
Wir möchten bitte zahlen.
We'd like to pay, please.
bezahlen
Meaning and usage: This often focuses on settling the cost of goods or services, or compensating someone for work. Be- does not make the verb a guaranteed statement that every payment obligation is completely finished.
Grammar: The bill, item or paid worker is accusative: die Rechnung bezahlen; den Handwerker bezahlen. A dative person can be the recipient of an amount. Be- is inseparable, giving hat bezahlt.
Ich bezahle die Rechnung mit meiner Karte.
I'll pay the bill with my card.
Die Firma bezahlt den Techniker für die zusätzliche Arbeit.
The company pays the technician for the additional work.
zählen
Meaning and usage: This concerns determining a number, rather than handing over money. It can also mean mattering or being valid, and auf jemanden zählen means relying on somebody.
Grammar: An item counted is accusative: die Münzen zählen. The verb can stand alone, as in counting to ten. Relying uses auf + accusative. Perfect: hat gezählt.
Bevor ich bezahle, zähle ich meine Münzen.
Before I pay, I count my coins.
Overlap and context
Die Miete zahlen and die Miete bezahlen both work. Duden also permits overlap with contributions and restaurant payment. Learn the typical objects to improve your phrasing, but do not mark every alternative as wrong.
Common mistakes
- Keep the umlaut: zahlen is paying; zählen is counting.
- Do not teach that bezahlen can never have a money amount as its object; that construction is documented too.
Memory aid: Zählen answers 'how many?'; zahlen and bezahlen answer a payment question.
Try it
You check how many coins you have. Complete: Ich ___ die Münzen.
Show the answer
zähle
You are determining a number, so the umlaut verb zählen is needed.