weitermachenvsweiterzumachenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,693
“weitermachen” frequency rank
#33,907
“weiterzumachen” frequency rank
41600
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weitermachen weiterzumachen
Definition fortfahren etwas zu tun erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs weitermachen

Where the eye mixes weitermachen and weiterzumachen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. weitermachen runs 12 letters (CVVCVCCVCCVC) against weiterzumachen's 14 (CVVCVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
weitermachen
14 ch
weiterzumachen

Look-alike desk: weitermachen vs weiterzumachen

A purely visual mix-up. weitermachen ([ˈvaɪ̯tɐˌmaxn̩]) and weiterzumachen ([ˈvaɪ̯tɐt͡suˌmaxn̩]) 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 41600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weitermachen is recorded at frequency rank #7,693, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯tɐˌmaxn̩]. weiterzumachen is at rank #33,907, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯tɐt͡suˌmaxn̩].

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 41600, this pair ranks #1,474,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of weitermachen vs weiterzumachen

Shared letters: acehimnrtw. Private to "weitermachen": -. Private to "weiterzumachen": uz.

"weitermachen" · 12 letters · shape CVVCVCCVCCVC  ·  "weiterzumachen" · 14 letters · shape CVVCVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weitermachen ← ewitermachen · weietrmachen · weitemrachen · weiteramchen · weitermacchen · weitermacehn · weitermachenn · weitermachhen
  • weiterzumachen ← ewiterzumachen · weietrzumachen · weiterrzumachen · weiteruzmachen · weiterzmuachen · weiterzuamchen · weiterzumacchen · weiterzumacehn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "weitermachen" for "weiterzumachen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈvaɪ̯tɐˌmaxn̩] versus [ˈvaɪ̯tɐt͡suˌmaxn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "weitermachen" or "weiterzumachen"?
"weitermachen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,693 in our German list, against #33,907 for "weiterzumachen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "weitermachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "weiterzumachen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,474,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "weitermachen" and "weiterzumachen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weitermachen vs weitermacht". 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 #1,474,607 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