Which to use
“Zunge” is a noun and “zutage” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,402
- “Zunge” frequency rank
- #20,139
- “zutage” frequency rank
- 24541
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Zunge | zutage |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | das bewegliche Organ im Mund, mit dem man schmeckt, schleckt, leckt, die Nahrung hin und her schiebt und spricht | offenkundig, sichtbar, frei |
Where the eye mixes Zunge and zutage
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Zunge runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against zutage's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Zunge with zutage
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Zunge is [ˈt͡sʊŋə] while zutage is [t͡suˈtaːɡə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24541, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Zunge is recorded at frequency rank #4,402, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈt͡sʊŋə]. zutage is at rank #20,139, tagged as anadv, pronounced [t͡suˈtaːɡə].
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 24541, this pair ranks #1,846,106 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Zunge vs zutage
Shared letters: eguz. Private to "Zunge": n. Private to "zutage": at.
"Zunge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "zutage" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Zunge" for "zutage" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Zunge" vs "zutage" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Zunge" and "zutage" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Zunge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zutage" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,846,106 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Zunge" and "zutage" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Zulage vs zutage". 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 #1,846,106 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.