Which to use
“umgeben” and “umlegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,743
- “umgeben” frequency rank
- #34,414
- “umlegen” frequency rank
- 39157
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | umgeben | umlegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | um jemanden etwas herumgeben, etwas umhängen | etwas um etwas winden |
Where the eye mixes umgeben and umlegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses umgeben with umlegen
A purely visual mix-up. umgeben ([ˈʊmˌɡeːbn̩]) and umlegen ([ˈʊmˌleːɡn̩]) 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 39157, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
umgeben is recorded at frequency rank #4,743, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʊmˌɡeːbn̩]. umlegen is at rank #34,414, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʊmˌleːɡn̩].
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 39157, this pair ranks #1,544,553 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of umgeben vs umlegen
Shared letters: egmnu. Private to "umgeben": b. Private to "umlegen": l.
"umgeben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "umlegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "umgeben" and "umlegen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "umgeben" vs "umlegen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "umgeben" and "umlegen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "umgeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "umlegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,544,553 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "umgeben" and "umlegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "umlegen vs Umwegen". 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 #1,544,553 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.