Which to use
“vorlesen” and “vorsehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,413
- “vorlesen” frequency rank
- #29,855
- “vorsehen” frequency rank
- 42268
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vorlesen | vorsehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Schriftzeichen, Worte und Texte wahrnehmen und sprachlich laut wiedergeben; laut lesen, so dass andere es hören können | hinter oder unter etwas hervorschauen |
Where the eye mixes vorlesen and vorsehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vorlesen and vorsehen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses vorlesen with vorsehen
A purely visual mix-up. vorlesen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌleːzn̩]) and vorsehen ([ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzeːən]) 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 42268, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vorlesen is recorded at frequency rank #12,413, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌleːzn̩]. vorsehen is at rank #29,855, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌzeːən].
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 42268, this pair ranks #1,454,617 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vorlesen vs vorsehen
Shared letters: enorsv. Private to "vorlesen": l. Private to "vorsehen": h.
"vorlesen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "vorsehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vorlesen" and "vorsehen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "vorlesen" or "vorsehen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "vorlesen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorsehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,454,617 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vorlesen" and "vorsehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Vorgehens vs vorsehen". 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 #1,454,617 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.