UmlagevsumlegenConfusable pair

Quick tell: Umlage is a noun, umlegen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Umlage” is a noun and “umlegen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,156
“Umlage” frequency rank
#34,414
“umlegen” frequency rank
58570
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Umlage umlegen
Definition umgelegte Geldsumme (pro Person, Beteiligtem) etwas um etwas winden

Where the eye mixes Umlage and umlegen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Umlage runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against umlegen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Umlage
7 ch
umlegen

Look-alike desk: Umlage vs umlegen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Umlage is [ˈʊmˌlaːɡə] while umlegen is [ˈʊmˌleːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58570, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Umlage is recorded at frequency rank #24,156, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊmˌlaːɡə]. 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 58570, this pair ranks #857,716 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Umlage vs umlegen

Shared letters: eglmu. Private to "Umlage": a. Private to "umlegen": n.

"Umlage" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "umlegen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Umlage ← mulage · ulmage · umalge · umlaeg · umlagge · umlgae · umllage · ummlage
  • umlegen ← mulegen · ulmegen · umelgen · umleegn · umlegenn · umleggen · umlegne · umlgeen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Umlage" for "umlegen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Umlage" is a noun and "umlegen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Umlage" or "umlegen"?
"Umlage" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,156 in our German list, against #34,414 for "umlegen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Umlage" 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 #857,716 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Umlage" 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 #857,716 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