zugestehenvszustehenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#28,956
“zugestehen” frequency rank
#29,887
“zustehen” frequency rank
58843
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zugestehen zustehen
Definition jemandem, der einen Anspruch auf etwas geltend macht, dieses gewähren/überlassen/erlauben rechtmäßig gehören, rechtmäßig gegeben werden müssen

Where the eye mixes zugestehen and zustehen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. zugestehen runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCVC) against zustehen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
zugestehen
8 ch
zustehen

Look-alike desk: zugestehen vs zustehen

A purely visual mix-up. zugestehen ([ˈt͡suːɡəˌʃteːən]) and zustehen ([ˈt͡suːˌʃteːən]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58843, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zugestehen is recorded at frequency rank #28,956, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːɡəˌʃteːən]. zustehen is at rank #29,887, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌʃteːən].

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 58843, this pair ranks #847,213 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of zugestehen vs zustehen

Shared letters: ehnstuz. Private to "zugestehen": g. Private to "zustehen": -.

"zugestehen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC  ·  "zustehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zugestehenuzgestehen · zguestehen · zuegstehen · zugesethen · zugesstehen · zugesteehn · zugestehenn · zugestehhen
  • zustehenuzstehen · zsutehen · zusethen · zusstehen · zusteehn · zustehenn · zustehhen · zustehne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "zugestehen" for "zustehen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡suːɡəˌʃteːən] versus [ˈt͡suːˌʃteːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "zugestehen" vs "zustehen" - which ranks higher?
"zugestehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,956 in our German list, against #29,887 for "zustehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "zugestehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "zustehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #847,213 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "zugestehen" and "zustehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zuseher vs zustehen". 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 #847,213 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