mitgehenvsmitnehmenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,002
“mitgehen” frequency rank
#3,833
“mitnehmen” frequency rank
24835
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mitgehen mitnehmen
Definition sich (zu Fuß) in die gleiche Richtung bewegen; mit jemandem oder etwas gehen Personen oder Dinge persönlich oder mit eigenem Transportmittel zu einem Ort bringen

Where the eye mixes mitgehen and mitnehmen

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

8 ch
mitgehen
9 ch
mitnehmen

Look-alike desk: mitgehen vs mitnehmen

A purely visual mix-up. mitgehen ([ˈmɪtˌɡeːən]) and mitnehmen ([ˈmɪtˌneːmən]) 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 24835, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mitgehen is recorded at frequency rank #21,002, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪtˌɡeːən]. mitnehmen is at rank #3,833, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪtˌneːmən].

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 24835, this pair ranks #1,841,997 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mitgehen vs mitnehmen

Shared letters: ehimnt. Private to "mitgehen": g. Private to "mitnehmen": -.

"mitgehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "mitnehmen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mitgehen ← imtgehen · migtehen · miteghen · mitgeehn · mitgehenn · mitgehhen · mitgehne · mitggehen
  • mitnehmen ← imtnehmen · mintehmen · mitenhmen · mitnehemn · mitnehhmen · mitnehmenn · mitnehmmen · mitnehmne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mitgehen" and "mitnehmen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɪtˌɡeːən] versus [ˈmɪtˌneːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mitgehen" or "mitnehmen"?
"mitnehmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,833 in our German list, against #21,002 for "mitgehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "mitgehen" and "mitnehmen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mitgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mitnehmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,841,997 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mitgehen" and "mitnehmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mitgehen vs mitziehen". 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 #1,841,997 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