zählen

Meaning

1. to count (to determine the number of objects in a group)
2. to count (to determine the number of objects in a group)
3. to count (to determine the number of objects in a group)
4. to reckon, to consider, to deem (later used in the active voice with a passive meaning)
5. to reckon, to consider, to deem (later used in the active voice with a passive meaning)
6. to tell, to recount
7. to count on, to rely on

Hyphenated as

zäh‧len

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtsɛːlən/

Etymology

From Middle High German zel(e)n, zellen, from Old High German zellan, from Proto-West Germanic *talljan, from Proto-Germanic *taljaną. The modern long vowel continues the 2nd and 3rd persons singular of the present (where West Germanic gemination did not occur); it was reinforced also by the lengthened vowel in Zahl (Middle High German zale).