nachzugehenvsnachzulesenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#22,077
“nachzugehen” frequency rank
#22,831
“nachzulesen” frequency rank
44908
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nachzugehen nachzulesen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs nachgehen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs nachlesen

Where the eye mixes nachzugehen and nachzulesen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. nachzugehen and nachzulesen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
nachzugehen
11 ch
nachzulesen

Visual trap between nachzugehen and nachzulesen

A purely visual mix-up. nachzugehen ([ˈnaːxt͡suˌɡeːən]) and nachzulesen ([ˈnaːxt͡suˌleːzn̩]) 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 44908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nachzugehen is recorded at frequency rank #22,077, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːxt͡suˌɡeːən]. nachzulesen is at rank #22,831, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈnaːxt͡suˌleːzn̩].

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 44908, this pair ranks #1,370,749 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nachzugehen vs nachzulesen

Shared letters: acehnuz. Private to "nachzugehen": g. Private to "nachzulesen": ls.

"nachzugehen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCVC  ·  "nachzulesen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nachzugehenanchzugehen · nacchzugehen · nachhzugehen · nachuzgehen · nachzguehen · nachzueghen · nachzugeehn · nachzugehenn
  • nachzulesenanchzulesen · nacchzulesen · nachhzulesen · nachuzlesen · nachzluesen · nachzuelsen · nachzuleesn · nachzulesenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "nachzugehen" and "nachzulesen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈnaːxt͡suˌɡeːən] versus [ˈnaːxt͡suˌleːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "nachzugehen" vs "nachzulesen" - which ranks higher?
"nachzugehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,077 in our German list, against #22,831 for "nachzulesen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "nachzugehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "nachzulesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,370,749 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "nachzugehen" and "nachzulesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nachzulesen 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 #1,370,749 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