weiterentwickelnvsweiterzuentwickelnWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#20,123
“weiterentwickeln” frequency rank
#30,868
“weiterzuentwickeln” frequency rank
50991
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weiterentwickeln weiterzuentwickeln
Definition etwas verändern, um es zu verbessern erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs weiterentwickeln

Where the eye mixes weiterentwickeln and weiterzuentwickeln

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 16 letters in sequence. weiterentwickeln runs 16 letters (CVVCVCVCCCVCCVCC) against weiterzuentwickeln's 18 (CVVCVCCVVCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

16 ch
weiterentwickeln
18 ch
weiterzuentwickeln

Look-alike desk: weiterentwickeln vs weiterzuentwickeln

A purely visual mix-up. weiterentwickeln ([ˈvaɪ̯tɐʔɛntˌvɪkl̩n]) and weiterzuentwickeln ([ˈvaɪ̯tɐt͡suʔɛntˌvɪkl̩n]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50991, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weiterentwickeln is recorded at frequency rank #20,123, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯tɐʔɛntˌvɪkl̩n]. weiterzuentwickeln is at rank #30,868, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯tɐt͡suʔɛntˌvɪkl̩n].

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 50991, this pair ranks #1,152,660 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of weiterentwickeln vs weiterzuentwickeln

Shared letters: ceiklnrtw. Private to "weiterentwickeln": -. Private to "weiterzuentwickeln": uz.

"weiterentwickeln" · 16 letters · shape CVVCVCVCCCVCCVCC  ·  "weiterzuentwickeln" · 18 letters · shape CVVCVCCVVCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weiterentwickeln ← ewiterentwickeln · weietrentwickeln · weiteerntwickeln · weiterenntwickeln · weiterentiwckeln · weiterenttwickeln · weiterentwcikeln · weiterentwicckeln
  • weiterzuentwickeln ← ewiterzuentwickeln · weietrzuentwickeln · weiterrzuentwickeln · weiteruzentwickeln · weiterzeuntwickeln · weiterzuenntwickeln · weiterzuentiwckeln · weiterzuenttwickeln

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "weiterentwickeln" and "weiterzuentwickeln" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvaɪ̯tɐʔɛntˌvɪkl̩n] versus [ˈvaɪ̯tɐt͡suʔɛntˌvɪkl̩n]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "weiterentwickeln" or "weiterzuentwickeln"?
"weiterentwickeln" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,123 in our German list, against #30,868 for "weiterzuentwickeln". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "weiterentwickeln" and "weiterzuentwickeln" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "weiterentwickeln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "weiterzuentwickeln" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,152,660 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "weiterentwickeln" and "weiterzuentwickeln" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weiterentwickeln vs weiterentwickelt". 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 #1,152,660 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