ZulagenvszusagenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Zulagen is a noun, zusagen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Zulagen” is a noun and “zusagen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,380
“Zulagen” frequency rank
#14,217
“zusagen” frequency rank
46597
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Zulagen zusagen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Zulage jemandem sagen oder versprechen, dass man tun wird oder dass geschehen wird, was er will

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Zulagen and zusagen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Zulagen
7 ch
zusagen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zulagen is [ˈt͡suːˌlaːɡn̩] while zusagen is [ˈt͡suːˌzaːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “Zulagen” becomes s in “zusagen”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46597, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Zulagen is recorded at frequency rank #32,380, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌlaːɡn̩]. zusagen is at rank #14,217, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌzaːɡn̩].

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 46597, this pair ranks #1,313,651 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Zulagen vs zusagen

Shared letters: aegnuz. Private to "Zulagen": l. Private to "zusagen": s.

"Zulagen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "zusagen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Zulagenuzlagen · zluagen · zualgen · zulaegn · zulagenn · zulaggen · zulagne · zulgaen
  • zusagenuzsagen · zsuagen · zuasgen · zusaegn · zusagenn · zusaggen · zusagne · zusgaen

Frequency comparison

Zulagen#32,380
zusagen#14,217

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Zulagen" and "zusagen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Zulagen" is a noun and "zusagen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Zulagen" or "zusagen"?
"zusagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,217 in our German list, against #32,380 for "Zulagen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Zulagen vs zusagen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Zulagen”; for a verb, it's “zusagen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Zulagen” 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