Which to use
“vergehen” and “vorgehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,606
- “vergehen” frequency rank
- #3,006
- “vorgehen” frequency rank
- 9612
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vergehen | vorgehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (rasch) zu Ende kommen | sich nach vorne bewegen |
Where the eye mixes vergehen and vorgehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. vergehen and vorgehen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses vergehen with vorgehen
A purely visual mix-up. vergehen ([fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən]) and vorgehen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːən]) 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 a single letter - e in “vergehen” becomes o in “vorgehen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9612, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vergehen is recorded at frequency rank #6,606, classified as averb, pronounced [fɛɐ̯ˈɡeːən]. vorgehen is at rank #3,006, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːən].
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 9612, this pair ranks #1,979,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vergehen vs vorgehen
Shared letters: eghnrv. Private to "vergehen": -. Private to "vorgehen": o.
"vergehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "vorgehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vergehen" for "vorgehen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "vergehen" or "vorgehen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "vergehen" and "vorgehen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vergehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorgehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,979,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vergehen" and "vorgehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vergaben vs vergehen". 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 #1,979,133 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.