mitnehmenvsmitzunehmenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,833
“mitnehmen” frequency rank
#13,440
“mitzunehmen” frequency rank
17273
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mitnehmen mitzunehmen
Definition Personen oder Dinge persönlich oder mit eigenem Transportmittel zu einem Ort bringen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs mitnehmen

Where the eye mixes mitnehmen and mitzunehmen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. mitnehmen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against mitzunehmen's 11 (CVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
mitnehmen
11 ch
mitzunehmen

Why the eye confuses mitnehmen with mitzunehmen

A purely visual mix-up. mitnehmen ([ˈmɪtˌneːmən]) and mitzunehmen ([ˈmɪtt͡suˌneːmən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17273, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mitnehmen is recorded at frequency rank #3,833, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪtˌneːmən]. mitzunehmen is at rank #13,440, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪtt͡suˌneːmən].

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 17273, this pair ranks #1,928,850 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mitnehmen vs mitzunehmen

Shared letters: ehimnt. Private to "mitnehmen": -. Private to "mitzunehmen": uz.

"mitnehmen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "mitzunehmen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mitnehmen ← imtnehmen · mintehmen · mitenhmen · mitnehemn · mitnehhmen · mitnehmenn · mitnehmmen · mitnehmne
  • mitzunehmen ← imtzunehmen · mittzunehmen · mituznehmen · mitznuehmen · mitzuenhmen · mitzunehemn · mitzunehhmen · mitzunehmenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mitnehmen" for "mitzunehmen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmɪtˌneːmən] versus [ˈmɪtt͡suˌneːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mitnehmen" or "mitzunehmen"?
"mitnehmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,833 in our German list, against #13,440 for "mitzunehmen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "mitnehmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mitzunehmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,928,850 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mitnehmen" and "mitzunehmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mitgehen vs mitnehmen". 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 #1,928,850 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