vorgelegenvsvorgezogenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,607
“vorgelegen” frequency rank
#21,476
“vorgezogen” frequency rank
70083
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorgelegen vorgezogen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs vorliegen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs vorziehen

Where the eye mixes vorgelegen and vorgezogen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. vorgelegen and vorgezogen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
vorgelegen
10 ch
vorgezogen

Look-alike desk: vorgelegen vs vorgezogen

A purely visual mix-up. vorgelegen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌleːɡn̩]) and vorgezogen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌt͡soːɡn̩]) 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 70083, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorgelegen is recorded at frequency rank #48,607, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌleːɡn̩]. vorgezogen is at rank #21,476, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌt͡soːɡn̩].

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 70083, this pair ranks #456,948 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vorgelegen vs vorgezogen

Shared letters: egnorv. Private to "vorgelegen": l. Private to "vorgezogen": z.

"vorgelegen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC  ·  "vorgezogen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorgelegen ← ovrgelegen · vogrelegen · voreglegen · vorgeelgen · vorgeleegn · vorgelegenn · vorgeleggen · vorgelegne
  • vorgezogen ← ovrgezogen · vogrezogen · voregzogen · vorgeozgen · vorgezgoen · vorgezoegn · vorgezogenn · vorgezoggen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vorgelegen" for "vorgezogen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌleːɡn̩] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌt͡soːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vorgelegen" or "vorgezogen"?
"vorgezogen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,476 in our German list, against #48,607 for "vorgelegen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorgelegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorgezogen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #456,948 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorgelegen" and "vorgezogen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorgelegen vs vorgelegte". 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 #456,948 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