Which to use
“vollauf” is an adverb and “Vorlauf” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,360
- “vollauf” frequency rank
- #22,957
- “Vorlauf” frequency rank
- 72317
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vollauf | Vorlauf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in vollem Umfang | die normale Laufrichtung |
Where the eye mixes vollauf and Vorlauf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vollauf and Vorlauf follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: vollauf vs Vorlauf
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vollauf is [ˈfɔlˌʔaʊ̯f] while Vorlauf is [ˈfoːɐ̯laʊ̯f]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “vollauf” becomes r in “Vorlauf”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72317, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vollauf is recorded at frequency rank #49,360, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈfɔlˌʔaʊ̯f]. Vorlauf is at rank #22,957, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯laʊ̯f].
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 72317, this pair ranks #391,716 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of vollauf vs Vorlauf
Shared letters: aflouv. Private to "vollauf": -. Private to "Vorlauf": r.
"vollauf" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "Vorlauf" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vollauf" for "Vorlauf" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "vollauf" or "Vorlauf" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vollauf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Vorlauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #391,716 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vollauf" and "Vorlauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Volland vs vollauf". 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 #391,716 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.