AbgabenvsAufgabenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,979
“Abgaben” frequency rank
#1,380
“Aufgaben” frequency rank
10359
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abgaben Aufgaben
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Abgabe Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Aufgabe

Where the eye mixes Abgaben and Aufgaben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Abgaben runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against Aufgaben's 8 (VVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Abgaben
8 ch
Aufgaben

Why the eye confuses Abgaben with Aufgaben

A purely visual mix-up. Abgaben ([ˈapˌɡaːbn̩]) and Aufgaben ([ˈaʊ̯fˌɡaːbn̩]) 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 10359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abgaben is recorded at frequency rank #8,979, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌɡaːbn̩]. Aufgaben is at rank #1,380, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡaːbn̩].

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 10359, this pair ranks #1,975,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Abgaben vs Aufgaben

Shared letters: abegn. Private to "Abgaben": -. Private to "Aufgaben": fu.

"Abgaben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "Aufgaben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abgaben ← abagben · abbgaben · abgabben · abgabenn · abgabne · abgaebn · abgbaen · abggaben
  • Aufgaben ← afugaben · aufagben · auffgaben · aufgabben · aufgabenn · aufgabne · aufgaebn · aufgbaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Abgaben" and "Aufgaben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌɡaːbn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡaːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Abgaben" vs "Aufgaben" - which ranks higher?
"Aufgaben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,380 in our German list, against #8,979 for "Abgaben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Abgaben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Aufgaben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,975,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Abgaben" and "Aufgaben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Abgaben vs abraten". 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 #1,975,534 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