entgehenvsentziehenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“entgehen” and “entziehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,165
“entgehen” frequency rank
#8,196
“entziehen” frequency rank
15361
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entgehen entziehen
Definition von etwas Unerwünschtem nicht betroffen werden, etwas Unerwünschtes vermeiden (ein Recht oder eine Erlaubnis) wegnehmen

Where the eye mixes entgehen and entziehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. entgehen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against entziehen's 9 (VCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
entgehen
9 ch
entziehen

Look-alike desk: entgehen vs entziehen

A purely visual mix-up. entgehen ([ɛntˈɡeːən]) and entziehen ([ɛntˈt͡siːən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15361, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entgehen is recorded at frequency rank #7,165, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈɡeːən]. entziehen is at rank #8,196, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈt͡siːən].

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 15361, this pair ranks #1,944,479 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entgehen vs entziehen

Shared letters: ehnt. Private to "entgehen": g. Private to "entziehen": iz.

"entgehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "entziehen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entgehen ← engtehen · enntgehen · enteghen · entgeehn · entgehenn · entgehhen · entgehne · entggehen
  • entziehen ← enntziehen · entizehen · enttziehen · entzeihen · entzieehn · entziehenn · entziehhen · entziehne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entgehen" and "entziehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈɡeːən] versus [ɛntˈt͡siːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "entgehen" or "entziehen" show up more?
"entgehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,165 in our German list, against #8,196 for "entziehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entziehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,944,479 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entgehen" and "entziehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entbehren vs entgehen". 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 #1,944,479 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