vorlagvsvorsahWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#29,854
“vorlag” frequency rank
#43,619
“vorsah” frequency rank
73473
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vorlag vorsah
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs vorliegen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs vorsehen

Where the eye mixes vorlag and vorsah

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. vorlag and vorsah follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
vorlag
6 ch
vorsah

Look-alike desk: vorlag vs vorsah

A purely visual mix-up. vorlag ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlaːk]) and vorsah ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzaː]) 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 73473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vorlag is recorded at frequency rank #29,854, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlaːk]. vorsah is at rank #43,619, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzaː].

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 73473, this pair ranks #359,437 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vorlag vs vorsah

Shared letters: aorv. Private to "vorlag": gl. Private to "vorsah": hs.

"vorlag" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "vorsah" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vorlagovrlag · volrag · voralg · vorlagg · vorlga · vorllag · vorrlag · vrolag
  • vorsahovrsah · vorash · vorrsah · vorsahh · vorsha · vorssah · vosrah · vrosah

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vorlag" and "vorsah" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌlaːk] versus [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzaː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "vorlag" or "vorsah" show up more?
"vorlag" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,854 in our German list, against #43,619 for "vorsah". 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 "vorlag" and "vorsah" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vorlag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vorsah" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #359,437 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vorlag" and "vorsah" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vornahm vs vorsah". 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 #359,437 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