AbgrundvsaufgrundWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Abgrund is a noun, aufgrund is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Abgrund” is a noun and “aufgrund” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,025
“Abgrund” frequency rank
#596
“aufgrund” frequency rank
10621
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Abgrund aufgrund
Definition schauerliche, gefährliche Tiefe auf der Grundlage (von), begründet (durch)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Abgrund and aufgrund apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Abgrund
8 ch
aufgrund

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Abgrund is [ˈapˌɡʁʊnt] while aufgrund is [aʊ̯fˈɡʁʊnt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Abgrund is recorded at frequency rank #10,025, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌɡʁʊnt]. aufgrund is at rank #596, tagged as anadv, pronounced [aʊ̯fˈɡʁʊnt].

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 10621, this pair ranks #1,974,215 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Abgrund vs aufgrund

Shared letters: adgnru. Private to "Abgrund": b. Private to "aufgrund": f.

"Abgrund" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCC  ·  "aufgrund" · 8 letters · shape VVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Abgrundabbgrund · abggrund · abgrnud · abgrrund · abgrudn · abgrundd · abgrunnd · abgurnd
  • aufgrundafugrund · auffgrund · aufggrund · aufgrnud · aufgrrund · aufgrudn · aufgrundd · aufgrunnd

Frequency comparison

Abgrund#10,025
aufgrund#596

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Abgrund" and "aufgrund" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Abgrund" is a noun and "aufgrund" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Abgrund" or "aufgrund"?
"aufgrund" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #596 in our German list, against #10,025 for "Abgrund". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Abgrund vs aufgrund

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Abgrund”; for an adverb, it's “aufgrund”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Abgrund” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list