vollziehenvsvorziehenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“vollziehen” and “vorziehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,205
“vollziehen” frequency rank
#19,762
“vorziehen” frequency rank
41967
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vollziehen vorziehen
Definition etwas durchführen, in die Praxis umsetzen nach vorne bewegen

Where the eye mixes vollziehen and vorziehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vollziehen runs 10 letters (CVCCCVVCVC) against vorziehen's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
vollziehen
9 ch
vorziehen

Visual trap between vollziehen and vorziehen

A purely visual mix-up. vollziehen ([fɔlˈt͡siːən]) and vorziehen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌt͡siːən]) 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 41967, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vollziehen is recorded at frequency rank #22,205, classified as averb, pronounced [fɔlˈt͡siːən]. vorziehen is at rank #19,762, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌt͡siːən].

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 41967, this pair ranks #1,463,634 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vollziehen vs vorziehen

Shared letters: ehinovz. Private to "vollziehen": l. Private to "vorziehen": r.

"vollziehen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC  ·  "vorziehen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vollziehenovllziehen · vlolziehen · vollizehen · vollzeihen · vollzieehn · vollziehenn · vollziehhen · vollziehne
  • vorziehenovrziehen · vorizehen · vorrziehen · vorzeihen · vorzieehn · vorziehenn · vorziehhen · vorziehne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vollziehen" and "vorziehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fɔlˈt͡siːən] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌt͡siːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vollziehen" or "vorziehen"?
"vorziehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,762 in our German list, against #22,205 for "vollziehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "vollziehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorziehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,463,634 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vollziehen" and "vorziehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorsehen vs vorziehen". 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 #1,463,634 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