Which to use
“zerlegen” and “zulegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,132
- “zerlegen” frequency rank
- #12,007
- “zulegen” frequency rank
- 33139
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zerlegen | zulegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas in seine Komponenten aufteilen, in seine Einzelteile auflösen | größer werden |
Where the eye mixes zerlegen and zulegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. zerlegen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against zulegen's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses zerlegen with zulegen
A purely visual mix-up. zerlegen ([ˌt͡sɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]) and zulegen ([ˈt͡suːˌleːɡn̩]) 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 33139, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zerlegen is recorded at frequency rank #21,132, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌt͡sɛɐ̯ˈleːɡn̩]. zulegen is at rank #12,007, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌleːɡn̩].
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 33139, this pair ranks #1,692,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zerlegen vs zulegen
Shared letters: eglnz. Private to "zerlegen": r. Private to "zulegen": u.
"zerlegen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "zulegen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zerlegen" for "zulegen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "zerlegen" or "zulegen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "zerlegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zulegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,692,450 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zerlegen" and "zulegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zergehen vs zerlegen". 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 #1,692,450 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.