Zug

[t͡suːk]

/[t͡suːk]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Zug” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #1,067 in German word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,067
frequency rank, German
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - mehrere hintereinander gekoppelte Fahrzeuge (speziell auf Schienen)

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

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Zug lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Zug is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [t͡suːk]. Corpus data places it at rank #1,067 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 21 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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

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.

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.

Using “Zug”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is Z-U-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [t͡suːk] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “zum” - see the side-by-side comparison. Zug vs zum
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list