zugebenvszugetanWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: zugeben is a verb, zugetan is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“zugeben” is a verb and “zugetan” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,135
“zugeben” frequency rank
#46,423
“zugetan” frequency rank
51558
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zugeben zugetan
Definition etwas als richtig, zutreffend bestätigen; einer fremden Behauptung Richtigkeit zubilligen eine eigene Tat einräumen, eingestehen zugeneigt, freundlich gesinnt, gewogen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set zugeben and zugetan apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
zugeben
7 ch
zugetan

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zugeben is [ˈt͡suːˌɡeːbn̩] while zugetan is [ˈt͡suːɡəˌtaːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51558, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zugeben is recorded at frequency rank #5,135, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌɡeːbn̩]. zugetan is at rank #46,423, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈt͡suːɡəˌtaːn].

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 51558, this pair ranks #1,130,858 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of zugeben vs zugetan

Shared letters: egnuz. Private to "zugeben": b. Private to "zugetan": at.

"zugeben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "zugetan" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zugebenuzgeben · zgueben · zuegben · zugbeen · zugebben · zugebenn · zugebne · zugeebn
  • zugetanuzgetan · zguetan · zuegtan · zugeatn · zugetann · zugetna · zugettan · zuggetan

Frequency comparison

zugeben#5,135
zugetan#46,423

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zugeben" and "zugetan" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "zugeben" is a verb and "zugetan" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "zugeben" or "zugetan"?
"zugeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,135 in our German list, against #46,423 for "zugetan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering zugeben vs zugetan

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “zugeben”; for an adjective, it's “zugetan”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “zugeben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list