zuweisenvszuwendenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,581
“zuweisen” frequency rank
#30,405
“zuwenden” frequency rank
65986
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature zuweisen zuwenden
Definition die Zuordnung bestimmen, festlegen, dass zwei Dinge/Personen oder Paarungen aus Sache und Person (vorübergehend) zusammengehören und in dieser Paarung gesehen/verwendet/genutzt werden sollen den Kopf/Körper in Richtung auf etwas/jemanden hinwenden

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
zuweisen
8 ch
zuwenden

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. zuweisen ([ˈt͡suːˌvaɪ̯zn̩]) and zuwenden ([ˈt͡suːˌvɛndn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

zuweisen is recorded at frequency rank #35,581, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌvaɪ̯zn̩]. zuwenden is at rank #30,405, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈt͡suːˌvɛndn̩].

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 65986, this pair ranks #588,374 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of zuweisen vs zuwenden

Shared letters: enuwz. Private to "zuweisen": is. Private to "zuwenden": d.

"zuweisen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "zuwenden" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • zuweisenuzweisen · zuewisen · zuweiesn · zuweisenn · zuweisne · zuweissen · zuwesien · zuwiesen
  • zuwendenuzwenden · zuewnden · zuwednen · zuwendden · zuwendenn · zuwendne · zuwenedn · zuwennden

Frequency comparison

zuweisen#35,581
zuwenden#30,405

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "zuweisen" and "zuwenden" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈt͡suːˌvaɪ̯zn̩] versus [ˈt͡suːˌvɛndn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "zuweisen" or "zuwenden"?
"zuwenden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,405 in our German list, against #35,581 for "zuweisen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering zuweisen vs zuwenden

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “zuweisen” 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