Which to use
“zunehmen” and “zusehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,291
- “zunehmen” frequency rank
- #7,554
- “zusehen” frequency rank
- 20845
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zunehmen | zusehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | größer werden | etwas (passiv) anschauen |
Where the eye mixes zunehmen and zusehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. zunehmen runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against zusehen's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between zunehmen and zusehen
A purely visual mix-up. zunehmen ([ˈt͡suːˌneːmən]) and zusehen ([ˈt͡suːˌzeːən]) 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 20845, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zunehmen is recorded at frequency rank #13,291, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌneːmən]. zusehen is at rank #7,554, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌzeːən].
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 20845, this pair ranks #1,893,080 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zunehmen vs zusehen
Shared letters: ehnuz. Private to "zunehmen": m. Private to "zusehen": s.
"zunehmen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "zusehen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "zunehmen" for "zusehen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "zunehmen" or "zusehen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "zunehmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zusehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,893,080 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zunehmen" and "zusehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zusehen vs Zuseher". 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 #1,893,080 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.