Which to use
“tagen” and “tätigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #608
- “tagen” frequency rank
- #8,799
- “tätigen” frequency rank
- 9407
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tagen | tätigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tag werden | etwas in die Tat umsetzen, eine bestimmte Handlung vollziehen |
Where the eye mixes tagen and tätigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tagen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against tätigen's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between tagen and tätigen
A purely visual mix-up. tagen ([ˈtaːɡn̩]) and tätigen ([ˈtɛːtɪɡn̩]) 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 9407, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tagen is recorded at frequency rank #608, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtaːɡn̩]. tätigen is at rank #8,799, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtɛːtɪɡn̩].
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 9407, this pair ranks #1,980,082 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tagen vs tätigen
Shared letters: egnt. Private to "tagen": a. Private to "tätigen": iä.
"tagen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "tätigen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- tagen ← atgen · taegn · tagenn · taggen · tagne · tgaen · ttagen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tagen" for "tätigen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tagen" vs "tätigen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "tagen" and "tätigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tätigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,980,082 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tagen" and "tätigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tätigen vs tätiger". 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 #1,980,082 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.