Which to use
“voran” is an adverb and “vorlag” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,694
- “voran” frequency rank
- #29,854
- “vorlag” frequency rank
- 33548
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | voran | vorlag |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vor jemand oder etwas anderem, an der Spitze | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs vorliegen |
Where the eye mixes voran and vorlag
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses voran with vorlag
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: voran is [foˈʁan] while vorlag is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlaːk]. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
voran is recorded at frequency rank #3,694, classified as anadv, pronounced [foˈʁan]. vorlag is at rank #29,854, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlaːk].
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 33548, this pair ranks #1,683,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of voran vs vorlag
Shared letters: aorv. Private to "voran": n. Private to "vorlag": gl.
"voran" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "vorlag" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "voran" for "vorlag" ever safe?
Which is more common, "voran" or "vorlag"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "voran" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorlag" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,683,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "voran" and "vorlag" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vorbau vs vorlag". 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 #1,683,552 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.