abgenommenvsaufgenommenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,386
“abgenommen” frequency rank
#1,344
“aufgenommen” frequency rank
7730
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgenommen aufgenommen
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abnehmen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs aufnehmen

Where the eye mixes abgenommen and aufgenommen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abgenommen runs 10 letters (VCCVCVCCVC) against aufgenommen's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
abgenommen
11 ch
aufgenommen

Look-alike desk: abgenommen vs aufgenommen

A purely visual mix-up. abgenommen ([ˈapɡəˌnɔmən]) and aufgenommen ([ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌnɔmən]) 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 7730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgenommen is recorded at frequency rank #6,386, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌnɔmən]. aufgenommen is at rank #1,344, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌnɔmən].

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 7730, this pair ranks #1,987,112 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abgenommen vs aufgenommen

Shared letters: aegmno. Private to "abgenommen": b. Private to "aufgenommen": fu.

"abgenommen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC  ·  "aufgenommen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgenommenabbgenommen · abegnommen · abgenmomen · abgennommen · abgenomemn · abgenomen · abgenommenn · abgenommne
  • aufgenommenafugenommen · aufegnommen · auffgenommen · aufgenmomen · aufgennommen · aufgenomemn · aufgenomen · aufgenommenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abgenommen" and "aufgenommen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌnɔmən] versus [ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌnɔmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abgenommen" vs "aufgenommen" - which ranks higher?
"aufgenommen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,344 in our German list, against #6,386 for "abgenommen". 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 "abgenommen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufgenommen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,987,112 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgenommen" and "aufgenommen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgenommen vs angenommene". 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 #1,987,112 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