Which to use
“nachgehen” and “nachlesen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,135
- “nachgehen” frequency rank
- #9,422
- “nachlesen” frequency rank
- 21557
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nachgehen | nachlesen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem folgen, hinter jemandem hergehen | (noch einmal) (genau und sorgfältig) lesen; sich aus einem Text Information beschaffen |
Where the eye mixes nachgehen and nachlesen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. nachgehen and nachlesen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: nachgehen vs nachlesen
A purely visual mix-up. nachgehen ([ˈnaːxˌɡeːən]) and nachlesen ([ˈnaːxˌleːzn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nachgehen is recorded at frequency rank #12,135, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌɡeːən]. nachlesen is at rank #9,422, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌleːzn̩].
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 21557, this pair ranks #1,884,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nachgehen vs nachlesen
Shared letters: acehn. Private to "nachgehen": g. Private to "nachlesen": ls.
"nachgehen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "nachlesen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nachgehen" and "nachlesen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "nachgehen" vs "nachlesen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nachgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nachlesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,884,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nachgehen" and "nachlesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nachladen vs nachlesen". 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 #1,884,860 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.