Which to use
“vorangehen” and “vorzugehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,978
- “vorangehen” frequency rank
- #14,456
- “vorzugehen” frequency rank
- 49434
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vorangehen | vorzugehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | als erster (alleine oder die anderen anführend) unterwegs sein | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs vorgehen |
Where the eye mixes vorangehen and vorzugehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vorangehen (CVCVCCVCVC) and vorzugehen (CVCCVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses vorangehen with vorzugehen
A purely visual mix-up. vorangehen ([foˈʁanˌɡeːən]) and vorzugehen ([ˈfoːɐ̯t͡suˌɡeːən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49434, 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]. vorzugehen is at rank #14,456, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯t͡suˌɡeːən].
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 49434, this pair ranks #1,211,673 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vorangehen vs vorzugehen
Shared letters: eghnorv. Private to "vorangehen": a. Private to "vorzugehen": uz.
"vorangehen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC · "vorzugehen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vorangehen ← ovrangehen · voarngehen · voragnehen · voraneghen · vorangeehn · vorangehenn · vorangehhen · vorangehne
- vorzugehen ← ovrzugehen · vorrzugehen · voruzgehen · vorzguehen · vorzueghen · vorzugeehn · vorzugehenn · vorzugehhen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vorangehen" for "vorzugehen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vorangehen" or "vorzugehen"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "vorangehen" and "vorzugehen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vorangehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorzugehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,211,673 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vorangehen" and "vorzugehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorzugehen vs vorzulesen". 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 #1,211,673 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.