Which to use
“niederlegen” and “niederzulegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,832
- “niederlegen” frequency rank
- #46,174
- “niederzulegen” frequency rank
- 81006
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | niederlegen | niederzulegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas nach unten legen, etwas auf den Boden legen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs niederlegen |
Where the eye mixes niederlegen and niederzulegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. niederlegen runs 11 letters (CVVCVCCVCVC) against niederzulegen's 13 (CVVCVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses niederlegen with niederzulegen
A purely visual mix-up. niederlegen ([ˈniːdɐˌleːɡn̩]) and niederzulegen ([ˈniːdɐt͡suˌleːɡn̩]) 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 81006, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
niederlegen is recorded at frequency rank #34,832, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈniːdɐˌleːɡn̩]. niederzulegen is at rank #46,174, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈniːdɐt͡suˌleːɡn̩].
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 81006, this pair ranks #184,202 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of niederlegen vs niederzulegen
Shared letters: degilnr. Private to "niederlegen": -. Private to "niederzulegen": uz.
"niederlegen" · 11 letters · shape CVVCVCCVCVC · "niederzulegen" · 13 letters · shape CVVCVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- niederlegen ← inederlegen · neiderlegen · nideerlegen · niedderlegen · niedelregen · niederelgen · niederleegn · niederlegenn
- niederzulegen ← inederzulegen · neiderzulegen · nideerzulegen · niedderzulegen · niederrzulegen · niederuzlegen · niederzluegen · niederzuelgen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "niederlegen" for "niederzulegen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "niederlegen" or "niederzulegen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "niederlegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "niederzulegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #184,202 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "niederlegen" and "niederzulegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "niederlegen vs Niederungen". 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 #184,202 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.