Zug

[t͡suːk]

/[t͡suːk]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Zug” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,067) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,067
frequency rank, German
1,996
“Z” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - mehrere hintereinander gekoppelte Fahrzeuge (speziell auf Schienen)

Corpus desk

Index DE-zug · Zug · German

Zug · rank #1,067 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,067
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,996
  • PHOTO-FINISH zieht

Nearest frequency peer: zieht (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “Zug”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Zug” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Zug vs zum
33% similar
Zug vs zur
33% similar
Zug vs zwo
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Zug
PropertyValue
HeadwordZug
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[t͡suːk]
Letters3
Frequency rank#1,067
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Zug” sits in German frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Zug lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Zug is neighbouring look-alikes ("zum", "zur", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [t͡suːk]. Frequency #1,067 among 1,996 “Z” headwords. 21 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for Zug in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "zum", "zur", "zwo", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is Zug, spelled Z-U-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    mehrere hintereinander gekoppelte Fahrzeuge (speziell auf Schienen)
  2. 2
    Kraft, die in eine bestimmte Richtung zieht
  3. 3
    das Einwirken auf etwas, um es zu sich hin zu bewegen; gegen die Kräfte des Festhaltens oder des inneren Zusammenhalts wirkende Kraft
  4. 4
    Luftzug; starker Luftdurchgang (vor allem in Gebäuden)
  5. 5
    Bewegen einer Brettspielfigur von einem Feld auf ein anderes
  6. 6
    kleinere Organisationseinheit in einer Hierarchie
  7. 7
    kleinere Organisationseinheit in einer Hierarchie
  8. 8
    kleinere Organisationseinheit in einer Hierarchie
  9. 9
    kleinere Organisationseinheit in einer Hierarchie
  10. 10
    kleinere Organisationseinheit in einer Hierarchie
  11. 11
    Wanderung
  12. 12
    Wanderung
  13. 13
    das Einatmen (Atemzug), das Rauchen (inhalieren) oder das Schlucken beim Trinken
  14. 14
    Personengruppe bei feierlichen oder fröhlichen Anlässen auf einem gemeinsamen Weg
  15. 15
    charakteristische Form der Linie
  16. 16
    charakteristische Form der Linie
  17. 17
    charakteristische Form der Linie
  18. 18
    charakteristische Form der Linie
  19. 19
    spiralförmige Rille im Lauf von Feuerwaffen
  20. 20
    Vorrichtung, die durch Ziehen ein Ereignis auslöst
  21. 21
    Unternehmung mit Waffeneinsatz

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Zug appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Viele Kinder schauen gerne Zügen zu.
  2. Dies ist der Zug nach nirgendwo.

Synonyms

BahnEisenbahnEisenbahnzugZugkraftZiehenDurchzugLuftzugWindzug⁵Spielzugtechnischer ZugFührungstruppZugtruppTourVogelzugAtemzugLungenzugUmzugSchriftzugGesichtszugCharakterzugWesenszug

Antonyms

DruckkraftGruppeTrupp

This word in other languages

train(English)tren(Español)train(Français)trem(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Zug"?
"Zug" is spelled Z-U-G. The IPA pronunciation is [t͡suːk].
What does "Zug" mean?
As a noun, "Zug" means: mehrere hintereinander gekoppelte Fahrzeuge (speziell auf Schienen)
What words are commonly confused with "Zug"?
"Zug" is commonly confused with "zum", "zur", "zwo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Zug"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Zug" is [t͡suːk]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Zug" come from?
"Zug" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Zug", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Ehe#1,071nix#1,087Tür#1,095geh#1,035

What to do next

You've looked up "Zug". Here's where to go from here.

  • "Zug" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "zum". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #1,067 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "Z" letter cohort. Z–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list