Which to use
“umdrehen” and “umzudrehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,189
- “umdrehen” frequency rank
- #39,081
- “umzudrehen” frequency rank
- 53270
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | umdrehen | umzudrehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas im Bogen von einer Seite auf die andere Seite bewegen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs umdrehen |
Where the eye mixes umdrehen and umzudrehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. umdrehen runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against umzudrehen's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: umdrehen vs umzudrehen
A purely visual mix-up. umdrehen ([ˈʊmˌdʁeːən]) and umzudrehen ([ˈʊmt͡suˌdʁeːən]) 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 53270, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
umdrehen is recorded at frequency rank #14,189, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʊmˌdʁeːən]. umzudrehen is at rank #39,081, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʊmt͡suˌdʁeːən].
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 53270, this pair ranks #1,064,557 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of umdrehen vs umzudrehen
Shared letters: dehmnru. Private to "umdrehen": -. Private to "umzudrehen": z.
"umdrehen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "umzudrehen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- umdrehen ← mudrehen · udmrehen · umddrehen · umderhen · umdreehn · umdrehenn · umdrehhen · umdrehne
- umzudrehen ← muzudrehen · ummzudrehen · umuzdrehen · umzdurehen · umzuddrehen · umzuderhen · umzudreehn · umzudrehenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "umdrehen" and "umzudrehen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "umdrehen" or "umzudrehen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "umdrehen" and "umzudrehen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "umdrehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "umzudrehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,064,557 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "umdrehen" and "umzudrehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "umzudrehen vs umzusehen". 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 #1,064,557 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.