vorgehtvsVorzeitWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#14,985
“vorgeht” frequency rank
#45,030
“Vorzeit” frequency rank
60015
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorgeht Vorzeit
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs vorgehen Zeitraum, der längst vergangen ist

Where the eye mixes vorgeht and Vorzeit

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. vorgeht (CVCCVCC) and Vorzeit (CVCCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
vorgeht
7 ch
Vorzeit

Look-alike desk: vorgeht vs Vorzeit

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vorgeht is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːt] while Vorzeit is [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌt͡saɪ̯t]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorgeht is recorded at frequency rank #14,985, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌɡeːt]. Vorzeit is at rank #45,030, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌt͡saɪ̯t].

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 60015, this pair ranks #802,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vorgeht vs Vorzeit

Shared letters: eortv. Private to "vorgeht": gh. Private to "Vorzeit": iz.

"vorgeht" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Vorzeit" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorgeht ← ovrgeht · vogreht · voreght · vorgehht · vorgehtt · vorgeth · vorggeht · vorghet
  • Vorzeit ← ovrzeit · vorezit · vorrzeit · vorzeitt · vorzeti · vorziet · vorzzeit · vozreit

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vorgeht" for "Vorzeit" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vorgeht" is a verb and "Vorzeit" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vorgeht" or "Vorzeit"?
"vorgeht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,985 in our German list, against #45,030 for "Vorzeit". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorgeht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Vorzeit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #802,797 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorgeht" and "Vorzeit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorzeige 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 #802,797 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