vorgehenvsvorgehtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,006
“vorgehen” frequency rank
#14,985
“vorgeht” frequency rank
17991
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorgehen vorgeht
Definition sich nach vorne bewegen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs vorgehen

Where the eye mixes vorgehen and vorgeht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vorgehen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against vorgeht's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
vorgehen
7 ch
vorgeht

Visual trap between vorgehen and vorgeht

A purely visual mix-up. vorgehen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːən]) and vorgeht ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17991, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorgehen is recorded at frequency rank #3,006, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːən]. vorgeht is at rank #14,985, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːt].

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 17991, this pair ranks #1,922,408 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vorgehen vs vorgeht

Shared letters: eghorv. Private to "vorgehen": n. Private to "vorgeht": t.

"vorgehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "vorgeht" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorgehen ← ovrgehen · vogrehen · voreghen · vorgeehn · vorgehenn · vorgehhen · vorgehne · vorggehen
  • vorgeht ← ovrgeht · vogreht · voreght · vorgehht · vorgehtt · vorgeth · vorggeht · vorghet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vorgehen" for "vorgeht" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːən] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vorgehen" vs "vorgeht" - which ranks higher?
"vorgehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,006 in our German list, against #14,985 for "vorgeht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorgeht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,922,408 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorgehen" and "vorgeht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorgeht vs Vorzeit". 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 #1,922,408 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