vorgelesenvsvorzulesenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#17,769
“vorgelesen” frequency rank
#48,611
“vorzulesen” frequency rank
66380
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorgelesen vorzulesen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs vorlesen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs vorlesen

Where the eye mixes vorgelesen and vorzulesen

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

10 ch
vorgelesen
10 ch
vorzulesen

Look-alike desk: vorgelesen vs vorzulesen

A purely visual mix-up. vorgelesen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌleːzn̩]) and vorzulesen ([ˈfoːɐ̯t͡suˌleːzn̩]) 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 66380, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorgelesen is recorded at frequency rank #17,769, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌleːzn̩]. vorzulesen is at rank #48,611, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯t͡suˌleːzn̩].

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 66380, this pair ranks #575,323 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vorgelesen vs vorzulesen

Shared letters: elnorsv. Private to "vorgelesen": g. Private to "vorzulesen": uz.

"vorgelesen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC  ·  "vorzulesen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorgelesenovrgelesen · vogrelesen · voreglesen · vorgeelsen · vorgeleesn · vorgelesenn · vorgelesne · vorgelessen
  • vorzulesenovrzulesen · vorrzulesen · voruzlesen · vorzluesen · vorzuelsen · vorzuleesn · vorzulesenn · vorzulesne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vorgelesen" and "vorzulesen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ɡəˌleːzn̩] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯t͡suˌleːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vorgelesen" vs "vorzulesen" - which ranks higher?
"vorgelesen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,769 in our German list, against #48,611 for "vorzulesen". 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 "vorgelesen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorzulesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #575,323 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorgelesen" and "vorzulesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorzulesen vs vorzuweisen". 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 #575,323 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