Which to use
“vorzugehen” and “vorzuziehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,456
- “vorzugehen” frequency rank
- #28,929
- “vorzuziehen” frequency rank
- 43385
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vorzugehen | vorzuziehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs vorgehen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs vorziehen |
Where the eye mixes vorzugehen and vorzuziehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. vorzugehen runs 10 letters (CVCCVCVCVC) against vorzuziehen's 11 (CVCCVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses vorzugehen with vorzuziehen
A purely visual mix-up. vorzugehen ([ˈfoːɐ̯t͡suˌɡeːən]) and vorzuziehen ([ˈfoːɐ̯t͡suˌt͡siːən]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vorzugehen is recorded at frequency rank #14,456, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯t͡suˌɡeːən]. vorzuziehen is at rank #28,929, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfoːɐ̯t͡suˌt͡siːən].
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 43385, this pair ranks #1,419,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vorzugehen vs vorzuziehen
Shared letters: ehnoruvz. Private to "vorzugehen": g. Private to "vorzuziehen": i.
"vorzugehen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC · "vorzuziehen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vorzugehen ← ovrzugehen · vorrzugehen · voruzgehen · vorzguehen · vorzueghen · vorzugeehn · vorzugehenn · vorzugehhen
- vorzuziehen ← ovrzuziehen · vorrzuziehen · voruzziehen · vorzuizehen · vorzuzeihen · vorzuzieehn · vorzuziehenn · vorzuziehhen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vorzugehen" and "vorzuziehen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "vorzugehen" or "vorzuziehen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "vorzugehen" and "vorzuziehen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vorzugehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vorzuziehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,419,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vorzugehen" and "vorzuziehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vorzugehen vs vorzulesen". 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 #1,419,786 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.