Which to use
“vorgehen” and “vorsehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,006
- “vorgehen” frequency rank
- #29,855
- “vorsehen” frequency rank
- 32861
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vorgehen | vorsehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich nach vorne bewegen | hinter oder unter etwas hervorschauen |
Where the eye mixes vorgehen and vorsehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. vorgehen and vorsehen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses vorgehen with vorsehen
A purely visual mix-up. vorgehen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːən]) and vorsehen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzeːən]) 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 a single letter - g in “vorgehen” becomes s in “vorsehen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32861, 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]. vorsehen is at rank #29,855, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzeːən].
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 32861, this pair ranks #1,698,441 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vorgehen vs vorsehen
Shared letters: ehnorv. Private to "vorgehen": g. Private to "vorsehen": s.
"vorgehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "vorsehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vorgehen" for "vorsehen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "vorgehen" or "vorsehen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vorgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorsehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,698,441 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vorgehen" and "vorsehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vorgehens vs vorsehen". 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 #1,698,441 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.