Which to use
“nachgehen” and “nachzugehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,135
- “nachgehen” frequency rank
- #22,077
- “nachzugehen” frequency rank
- 34212
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nachgehen | nachzugehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem folgen, hinter jemandem hergehen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs nachgehen |
Where the eye mixes nachgehen and nachzugehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. nachgehen runs 9 letters (CVCCCVCVC) against nachzugehen's 11 (CVCCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: nachgehen vs nachzugehen
A purely visual mix-up. nachgehen ([ˈnaːxˌɡeːən]) and nachzugehen ([ˈnaːxt͡suˌɡeːən]) 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 34212, 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]. nachzugehen is at rank #22,077, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːxt͡suˌɡeːən].
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 34212, this pair ranks #1,668,531 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nachgehen vs nachzugehen
Shared letters: aceghn. Private to "nachgehen": -. Private to "nachzugehen": uz.
"nachgehen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "nachzugehen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- nachgehen ← anchgehen · nacchgehen · nacghehen · nacheghen · nachgeehn · nachgehenn · nachgehhen · nachgehne
- nachzugehen ← anchzugehen · nacchzugehen · nachhzugehen · nachuzgehen · nachzguehen · nachzueghen · nachzugeehn · nachzugehenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nachgehen" and "nachzugehen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "nachgehen" or "nachzugehen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "nachgehen" and "nachzugehen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "nachgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "nachzugehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,668,531 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nachgehen" and "nachzugehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nachzugehen 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 #1,668,531 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.