Which to use
“abbrechen” and “aufbrechen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,405
- “abbrechen” frequency rank
- #15,821
- “aufbrechen” frequency rank
- 26226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abbrechen | aufbrechen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch Krafteinwirkung einen Teil vom Ganzen trennen, teilen | etwas, das verschlossen ist, mit Gewalt öffnen |
Where the eye mixes abbrechen and aufbrechen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abbrechen runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against aufbrechen's 10 (VVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abbrechen vs aufbrechen
A purely visual mix-up. abbrechen ([ˈapˌbʁɛçn̩]) and aufbrechen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌbʁɛçn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abbrechen is recorded at frequency rank #10,405, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌbʁɛçn̩]. aufbrechen is at rank #15,821, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌbʁɛçn̩].
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 26226, this pair ranks #1,821,324 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abbrechen vs aufbrechen
Shared letters: abcehnr. Private to "abbrechen": -. Private to "aufbrechen": fu.
"abbrechen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "aufbrechen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abbrechen ← abberchen · abbrcehen · abbrecchen · abbrecehn · abbrechenn · abbrechhen · abbrechne · abbrehcen
- aufbrechen ← afubrechen · aubfrechen · aufbbrechen · aufberchen · aufbrcehen · aufbrecchen · aufbrecehn · aufbrechenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abbrechen" for "aufbrechen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "abbrechen" vs "aufbrechen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abbrechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufbrechen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,821,324 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abbrechen" and "aufbrechen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufbrechen vs aufdrehen". 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 #1,821,324 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.