Which to use
“umgehen” and “umkehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,342
- “umgehen” frequency rank
- #23,745
- “umkehren” frequency rank
- 27087
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | umgehen | umkehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein physisches Hindernis umgehen, einen Umweg nehmen, aber auch mit übertragener Bedeutung: etwas auf eine umständliche Weise erledigen, weil die normale, einfache Weise aus irgendeinem Grunde in diesem Falle nicht funktioniert | die Bewegungsrichtung ändern |
Where the eye mixes umgehen and umkehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. umgehen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against umkehren's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: umgehen vs umkehren
A purely visual mix-up. umgehen ([ʊmˈɡeːən]) and umkehren ([ˈʊmˌkeːʁən]) 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 27087, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
umgehen is recorded at frequency rank #3,342, classified as averb, pronounced [ʊmˈɡeːən]. umkehren is at rank #23,745, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʊmˌkeːʁən].
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 27087, this pair ranks #1,807,556 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of umgehen vs umkehren
Shared letters: ehmnu. Private to "umgehen": g. Private to "umkehren": kr.
"umgehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "umkehren" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "umgehen" and "umkehren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "umgehen" or "umkehren"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "umgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "umkehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,807,556 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "umgehen" and "umkehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "umkehren vs umzukehren". 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 #1,807,556 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.