Which to use
“abgehen” and “aufgehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,481
- “abgehen” frequency rank
- #16,355
- “aufgehen” frequency rank
- 36836
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abgehen | aufgehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine bestimmte Stelle, Ort verlassen, weggehen | sich öffnen |
Where the eye mixes abgehen and aufgehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abgehen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against aufgehen's 8 (VVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between abgehen and aufgehen
A purely visual mix-up. abgehen ([ˈapˌɡeːən]) and aufgehen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːən]) 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 36836, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abgehen is recorded at frequency rank #20,481, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌɡeːən]. aufgehen is at rank #16,355, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːən].
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 36836, this pair ranks #1,605,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abgehen vs aufgehen
Shared letters: aeghn. Private to "abgehen": b. Private to "aufgehen": fu.
"abgehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "aufgehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abgehen" and "aufgehen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "abgehen" vs "aufgehen" - 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 "abgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufgehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,605,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abgehen" and "aufgehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufdrehen vs aufgehen". 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 #1,605,482 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.