zugebenvszulegenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,135
“zugeben” frequency rank
#12,007
“zulegen” frequency rank
17142
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zugeben zulegen
Definition etwas als richtig, zutreffend bestätigen; einer fremden Behauptung Richtigkeit zubilligen eine eigene Tat einräumen, eingestehen größer werden

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
zugeben
7 ch
zulegen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. zugeben ([ˈt͡suːˌɡeːbn̩]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17142, 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]. 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 17142, this pair ranks #1,930,007 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of zugeben vs zulegen

Shared letters: egnuz. Private to "zugeben": b. Private to "zulegen": l.

"zugeben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "zulegen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zugebenuzgeben · zgueben · zuegben · zugbeen · zugebben · zugebenn · zugebne · zugeebn
  • zulegenuzlegen · zluegen · zuelgen · zuleegn · zulegenn · zuleggen · zulegne · zulgeen

Frequency comparison

zugeben#5,135
zulegen#12,007

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zugeben" and "zulegen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡suːˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈt͡suːˌleːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "zugeben" or "zulegen"?
"zugeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,135 in our German list, against #12,007 for "zulegen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering zugeben vs zulegen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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