VorbauvsvorlagWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Vorbau is a noun, vorlag is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Vorbau” is a noun and “vorlag” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,107
“Vorbau” frequency rank
#29,854
“vorlag” frequency rank
76961
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Vorbau vorlag
Definition Gebäudeteil, der aus dem eigentlichen Kerngebäude herausragt 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs vorliegen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Vorbau and vorlag apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Vorbau
6 ch
vorlag

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Vorbau is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌbaʊ̯] while vorlag is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlaːk]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Vorbau is recorded at frequency rank #47,107, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌbaʊ̯]. 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 76961, this pair ranks #271,726 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Vorbau vs vorlag

Shared letters: aorv. Private to "Vorbau": bu. Private to "vorlag": gl.

"Vorbau" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "vorlag" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Vorbauovrbau · vobrau · vorabu · vorbbau · vorbua · vorrbau · vrobau · vvorbau
  • vorlagovrlag · volrag · voralg · vorlagg · vorlga · vorllag · vorrlag · vrolag

Frequency comparison

Vorbau#47,107
vorlag#29,854

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Vorbau" and "vorlag" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Vorbau" is a noun and "vorlag" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Vorbau" or "vorlag"?
"vorlag" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,854 in our German list, against #47,107 for "Vorbau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Vorbau vs vorlag

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Vorbau”; for a verb, it's “vorlag”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Vorbau” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list