vorbeischauenvsvorbeizuschauenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,320
“vorbeischauen” frequency rank
#47,843
“vorbeizuschauen” frequency rank
64163
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorbeischauen vorbeizuschauen
Definition vorbeikommen, jemanden oder etwas kurz besuchen (in Österreich salopp) erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs vorbeischauen

Where the eye mixes vorbeischauen and vorbeizuschauen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 13 letters in sequence. vorbeischauen runs 13 letters (CVCCVVCCCVVVC) against vorbeizuschauen's 15 (CVCCVVCVCCCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
vorbeischauen
15 ch
vorbeizuschauen

Why the eye confuses vorbeischauen with vorbeizuschauen

A purely visual mix-up. vorbeischauen ([foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯ˌʃaʊ̯ən]) and vorbeizuschauen ([foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯t͡suˌʃaʊ̯ən]) 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 64163, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorbeischauen is recorded at frequency rank #16,320, classified as averb, pronounced [foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯ˌʃaʊ̯ən]. vorbeizuschauen is at rank #47,843, tagged as averb, pronounced [foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯t͡suˌʃaʊ̯ən].

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 64163, this pair ranks #651,216 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vorbeischauen vs vorbeizuschauen

Shared letters: abcehinorsuv. Private to "vorbeischauen": -. Private to "vorbeizuschauen": z.

"vorbeischauen" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVVCCCVVVC  ·  "vorbeizuschauen" · 15 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCCCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorbeischauen ← ovrbeischauen · vobreischauen · vorbbeischauen · vorbeicshauen · vorbeiscahuen · vorbeiscchauen · vorbeischaeun · vorbeischauenn
  • vorbeizuschauen ← ovrbeizuschauen · vobreizuschauen · vorbbeizuschauen · vorbeiuzschauen · vorbeizsuchauen · vorbeizucshauen · vorbeizuscahuen · vorbeizuscchauen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vorbeischauen" and "vorbeizuschauen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯ˌʃaʊ̯ən] versus [foːɐ̯ˈbaɪ̯t͡suˌʃaʊ̯ən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vorbeischauen" or "vorbeizuschauen"?
"vorbeischauen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,320 in our German list, against #47,843 for "vorbeizuschauen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "vorbeischauen" and "vorbeizuschauen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorbeischauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorbeizuschauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #651,216 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #651,216 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