zugehenvszuziehenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#16,335
“zugehen” frequency rank
#43,660
“zuziehen” frequency rank
59995
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zugehen zuziehen
Definition in die Richtung von jemandem oder etwas gehen etwas Bewegliches so auf der Halterung/Schiene bewegen (ziehen), dass sich eine geschlossene Fläche ergibt

Where the eye mixes zugehen and zuziehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. zugehen runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against zuziehen's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
zugehen
8 ch
zuziehen

Visual trap between zugehen and zuziehen

A purely visual mix-up. zugehen ([ˈt͡suːˌɡeːən]) and zuziehen ([ˈt͡suːˌt͡siːən]) 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 59995, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zugehen is recorded at frequency rank #16,335, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌɡeːən]. zuziehen is at rank #43,660, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌt͡siːən].

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 59995, this pair ranks #803,515 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of zugehen vs zuziehen

Shared letters: ehnuz. Private to "zugehen": g. Private to "zuziehen": i.

"zugehen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "zuziehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zugehenuzgehen · zguehen · zueghen · zugeehn · zugehenn · zugehhen · zugehne · zuggehen
  • zuziehenuzziehen · zuizehen · zuzeihen · zuzieehn · zuziehenn · zuziehhen · zuziehne · zuziheen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "zugehen" for "zuziehen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡suːˌɡeːən] versus [ˈt͡suːˌt͡siːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "zugehen" or "zuziehen" show up more?
"zugehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,335 in our German list, against #43,660 for "zuziehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "zugehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zuziehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #803,515 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zugehen" and "zuziehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zustehen vs zuziehen". 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 #803,515 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