Which to use
“vorangehen” and “vorgehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,978
- “vorangehen” frequency rank
- #3,006
- “vorgehen” frequency rank
- 37984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vorangehen | vorgehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | als erster (alleine oder die anderen anführend) unterwegs sein | sich nach vorne bewegen |
Where the eye mixes vorangehen and vorgehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vorangehen runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCVC) against vorgehen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses vorangehen with vorgehen
A purely visual mix-up. vorangehen ([foˈʁanˌɡeːən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vorangehen is recorded at frequency rank #34,978, classified as averb, pronounced [foˈʁanˌɡeːən]. 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 37984, this pair ranks #1,575,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vorangehen vs vorgehen
Shared letters: eghnorv. Private to "vorangehen": a. Private to "vorgehen": -.
"vorangehen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC · "vorgehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vorangehen ← ovrangehen · voarngehen · voragnehen · voraneghen · vorangeehn · vorangehenn · vorangehhen · vorangehne
- vorgehen ← ovrgehen · vogrehen · voreghen · vorgeehn · vorgehenn · vorgehhen · vorgehne · vorggehen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vorangehen" and "vorgehen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "vorangehen" or "vorgehen"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vorangehen" 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 #1,575,921 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vorangehen" and "vorgehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vogesen vs vorgehen". 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 #1,575,921 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.