vorgekommenvsvorkommenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,875
“vorgekommen” frequency rank
#3,626
“vorkommen” frequency rank
20501
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorgekommen vorkommen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs vorkommen sich nach vorn bewegen

Where the eye mixes vorgekommen and vorkommen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. vorgekommen runs 11 letters (CVCCVCVCCVC) against vorkommen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
vorgekommen
9 ch
vorkommen

Visual trap between vorgekommen and vorkommen

A purely visual mix-up. vorgekommen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌkɔmən]) and vorkommen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]) 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 20501, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorgekommen is recorded at frequency rank #16,875, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌkɔmən]. vorkommen is at rank #3,626, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən].

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 20501, this pair ranks #1,896,962 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vorgekommen vs vorkommen

Shared letters: ekmnorv. Private to "vorgekommen": g. Private to "vorkommen": -.

"vorgekommen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC  ·  "vorkommen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorgekommen ← ovrgekommen · vogrekommen · voregkommen · vorgekkommen · vorgekmomen · vorgekomemn · vorgekomen · vorgekommenn
  • vorkommen ← ovrkommen · vokrommen · vorkkommen · vorkmomen · vorkomemn · vorkomen · vorkommenn · vorkommne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vorgekommen" and "vorkommen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌkɔmən] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌkɔmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vorgekommen" vs "vorkommen" - which ranks higher?
"vorkommen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,626 in our German list, against #16,875 for "vorgekommen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorgekommen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorkommen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,896,962 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorgekommen" and "vorkommen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorgekommen vs vorgenommene". 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 #1,896,962 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