tätigenvstaugenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,799
“tätigen” frequency rank
#21,792
“taugen” frequency rank
30591
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tätigen taugen
Definition etwas in die Tat umsetzen, eine bestimmte Handlung vollziehen zu etwas nützlich/brauchbar sein

Where the eye mixes tätigen and taugen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tätigen runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against taugen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
tätigen
6 ch
taugen

Visual trap between tätigen and taugen

A purely visual mix-up. tätigen ([ˈtɛːtɪɡn̩]) and taugen ([ˈtaʊ̯ɡn̩]) 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 30591, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tätigen is recorded at frequency rank #8,799, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈtɛːtɪɡn̩]. taugen is at rank #21,792, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈtaʊ̯ɡn̩].

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 30591, this pair ranks #1,744,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tätigen vs taugen

Shared letters: egnt. Private to "tätigen": iä. Private to "taugen": au.

"tätigen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "taugen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • taugen ← atugen · taguen · tauegn · taugenn · tauggen · taugne · ttaugen · tuagen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tätigen" and "taugen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtɛːtɪɡn̩] versus [ˈtaʊ̯ɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tätigen" vs "taugen" - which ranks higher?
"tätigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,799 in our German list, against #21,792 for "taugen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tätigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "taugen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,744,824 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tätigen" and "taugen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "taugen vs trügen". 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 #1,744,824 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