vorgehenvsvorlesenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,006
“vorgehen” frequency rank
#12,413
“vorlesen” frequency rank
15419
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorgehen vorlesen
Definition sich nach vorne bewegen Schriftzeichen, Worte und Texte wahrnehmen und sprachlich laut wiedergeben; laut lesen, so dass andere es hören können

Where the eye mixes vorgehen and vorlesen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vorgehen and vorlesen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
vorgehen
8 ch
vorlesen

Look-alike desk: vorgehen vs vorlesen

A purely visual mix-up. vorgehen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːən]) and vorlesen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌleːzn̩]) 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 15419, 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]. vorlesen is at rank #12,413, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌleːzn̩].

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 15419, this pair ranks #1,943,998 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vorgehen vs vorlesen

Shared letters: enorv. Private to "vorgehen": gh. Private to "vorlesen": ls.

"vorgehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "vorlesen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorgehen ← ovrgehen · vogrehen · voreghen · vorgeehn · vorgehenn · vorgehhen · vorgehne · vorggehen
  • vorlesen ← ovrlesen · volresen · vorelsen · vorleesn · vorlesenn · vorlesne · vorlessen · vorllesen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vorgehen" and "vorlesen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːən] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌleːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vorgehen" vs "vorlesen" - which ranks higher?
"vorgehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,006 in our German list, against #12,413 for "vorlesen". 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 "vorlesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,943,998 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorgehen" and "vorlesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorlesen 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 #1,943,998 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