ziehtvszugehtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,066
“zieht” frequency rank
#21,135
“zugeht” frequency rank
22201
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zieht zugeht
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs ziehen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs zugehen

Where the eye mixes zieht and zugeht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. zieht runs 5 letters (CVVCC) against zugeht's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
zieht
6 ch
zugeht

Visual trap between zieht and zugeht

A purely visual mix-up. zieht ([t͡siːt]) and zugeht ([ˈt͡suːˌɡeːt]) 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 22201, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zieht is recorded at frequency rank #1,066, classified as averb, pronounced [t͡siːt]. zugeht is at rank #21,135, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌɡeːt].

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 22201, this pair ranks #1,877,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of zieht vs zugeht

Shared letters: ehtz. Private to "zieht": i. Private to "zugeht": gu.

"zieht" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "zugeht" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ziehtizeht · zeiht · ziehht · ziehtt · zieth · zihet · zzieht
  • zugehtuzgeht · zgueht · zueght · zugehht · zugehtt · zugeth · zuggeht · zughet

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "zieht" for "zugeht" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([t͡siːt] versus [ˈt͡suːˌɡeːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "zieht" or "zugeht" show up more?
"zieht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,066 in our German list, against #21,135 for "zugeht". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "zieht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zugeht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,877,054 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zieht" and "zugeht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zugeht vs zügeln". 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 #1,877,054 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