Which to use
“entgegen” is a preposition and “entzogen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,724
- “entgegen” frequency rank
- #9,183
- “entzogen” frequency rank
- 10907
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | entgegen | entzogen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Dativ (seltener Genitiv,Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod.Der Spiegelentgegen.Variantengrammatik des Standarddeutschen(aktualisierter Artikel. mit Verbreitungsgrafiken); vergl.entgegen + Dativ/Genitiv. nicht im Einklang mit etwas; zuwider | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs entziehen |
Where the eye mixes entgegen and entzogen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses entgegen with entzogen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: entgegen is [ɛntˈɡeːɡn̩] while entzogen is [ɛntˈt͡soːɡn̩]. 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 (preposition vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10907, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
entgegen is recorded at frequency rank #1,724, classified as aprep, pronounced [ɛntˈɡeːɡn̩]. entzogen is at rank #9,183, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈt͡soːɡn̩].
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 10907, this pair ranks #1,972,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of entgegen vs entzogen
Shared letters: egnt. Private to "entgegen": -. Private to "entzogen": oz.
"entgegen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "entzogen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "entgegen" and "entzogen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "entgegen" or "entzogen" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "entgegen" and "entzogen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "entgegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "entzogen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,972,693 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "entgegen" and "entzogen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entzog vs entzogen". 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 #1,972,693 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.