Which to use
“nachgehen” and “nachziehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,135
- “nachgehen” frequency rank
- #37,697
- “nachziehen” frequency rank
- 49832
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nachgehen | nachziehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem folgen, hinter jemandem hergehen | noch einmal einen Strich an gleicher Stelle machen/ziehen |
Where the eye mixes nachgehen and nachziehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. nachgehen runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVC) against nachziehen's 10 (CVCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between nachgehen and nachziehen
A purely visual mix-up. nachgehen ([ˈnaːxˌɡeːən]) and nachziehen ([ˈnaːxˌt͡siːən]) 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 49832, 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]. nachziehen is at rank #37,697, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːxˌt͡siːən].
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 49832, this pair ranks #1,196,650 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of nachgehen vs nachziehen
Shared letters: acehn. Private to "nachgehen": g. Private to "nachziehen": iz.
"nachgehen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "nachziehen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nachgehen ← anchgehen · nacchgehen · nacghehen · nacheghen · nachgeehn · nachgehenn · nachgehhen · nachgehne
- nachziehen ← anchziehen · nacchziehen · nachhziehen · nachizehen · nachzeihen · nachzieehn · nachziehenn · nachziehhen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nachgehen" and "nachziehen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "nachgehen" vs "nachziehen" - which ranks higher?
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 "nachgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nachziehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,196,650 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nachgehen" and "nachziehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nachziehen vs nachzusehen". 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 #1,196,650 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.