abgetauchtvsaufgetauchtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#49,439
“abgetaucht” frequency rank
#7,722
“aufgetaucht” frequency rank
57161
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abgetaucht aufgetaucht
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs abtauchen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs auftauchen

Where the eye mixes abgetaucht and aufgetaucht

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

10 ch
abgetaucht
11 ch
aufgetaucht

Why the eye confuses abgetaucht with aufgetaucht

A purely visual mix-up. abgetaucht ([ˈapɡəˌtaʊ̯xt]) and aufgetaucht ([ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌtaʊ̯xt]) 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 57161, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abgetaucht is recorded at frequency rank #49,439, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapɡəˌtaʊ̯xt]. aufgetaucht is at rank #7,722, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌtaʊ̯xt].

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 57161, this pair ranks #912,112 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abgetaucht vs aufgetaucht

Shared letters: aceghtu. Private to "abgetaucht": b. Private to "aufgetaucht": f.

"abgetaucht" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVCCC  ·  "aufgetaucht" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abgetaucht ← abbgetaucht · abegtaucht · abgeatucht · abgetacuht · abgetauccht · abgetauchht · abgetauchtt · abgetaucth
  • aufgetaucht ← afugetaucht · aufegtaucht · auffgetaucht · aufgeatucht · aufgetacuht · aufgetauccht · aufgetauchht · aufgetauchtt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abgetaucht" and "aufgetaucht" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapɡəˌtaʊ̯xt] versus [ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌtaʊ̯xt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abgetaucht" or "aufgetaucht"?
"aufgetaucht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,722 in our German list, against #49,439 for "abgetaucht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abgetaucht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufgetaucht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #912,112 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abgetaucht" and "aufgetaucht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abgesucht vs abgetaucht". 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 #912,112 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