abfragenvsaufregenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#33,414
“abfragen” frequency rank
#8,512
“aufregen” frequency rank
41926
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abfragen aufregen
Definition Prüfungsfragen stellen jemanden erregen, unruhig machen

Where the eye mixes abfragen and aufregen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abfragen (VCCCVCVC) and aufregen (VVCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
abfragen
8 ch
aufregen

Look-alike desk: abfragen vs aufregen

A purely visual mix-up. abfragen ([ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩]) and aufregen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌʁeːɡn̩]) 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 41926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abfragen is recorded at frequency rank #33,414, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩]. aufregen is at rank #8,512, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌʁeːɡn̩].

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 41926, this pair ranks #1,464,885 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abfragen vs aufregen

Shared letters: aefgnr. Private to "abfragen": b. Private to "aufregen": u.

"abfragen" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "aufregen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abfragen ← abbfragen · abfargen · abffragen · abfraegn · abfragenn · abfraggen · abfragne · abfrgaen
  • aufregen ← afuregen · aufergen · auffregen · aufreegn · aufregenn · aufreggen · aufregne · aufrgeen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abfragen" and "aufregen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌfʁaːɡn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌʁeːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abfragen" or "aufregen"?
"aufregen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,512 in our German list, against #33,414 for "abfragen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abfragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufregen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,464,885 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abfragen" and "aufregen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abfragen vs abtragen". 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 #1,464,885 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list