Which to use
“zusagen” is a verb and “zutage” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,217
- “zusagen” frequency rank
- #20,139
- “zutage” frequency rank
- 34356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zusagen | zutage |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem sagen oder versprechen, dass man tun wird oder dass geschehen wird, was er will | offenkundig, sichtbar, frei |
Where the eye mixes zusagen and zutage
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. zusagen runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) 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 zusagen with zutage
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zusagen is [ˈt͡suːˌzaːɡn̩] 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 (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zusagen is recorded at frequency rank #14,217, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌzaːɡn̩]. 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 34356, this pair ranks #1,665,173 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of zusagen vs zutage
Shared letters: aeguz. Private to "zusagen": ns. Private to "zutage": t.
"zusagen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "zutage" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zusagen" and "zutage" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "zusagen" vs "zutage" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "zusagen" and "zutage" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "zusagen" 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 #1,665,173 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zusagen" 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 #1,665,173 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.