Which to use
“abheben” and “aufheben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,850
- “abheben” frequency rank
- #11,009
- “aufheben” frequency rank
- 23859
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abheben | aufheben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas von etwas anderem, zum Beispiel auch einer Unterlage oder einem Unterteil, herunternehmen | etwas nehmen, aufnehmen (was auf dem Boden liegt) |
Where the eye mixes abheben and aufheben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. abheben runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against aufheben's 8 (VVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abheben vs aufheben
A purely visual mix-up. abheben ([ˈapˌheːbn̩]) and aufheben ([ˈaʊ̯fˌheːbn̩]) 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 23859, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abheben is recorded at frequency rank #12,850, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌheːbn̩]. aufheben is at rank #11,009, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌheːbn̩].
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 23859, this pair ranks #1,855,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abheben vs aufheben
Shared letters: abehn. Private to "abheben": -. Private to "aufheben": fu.
"abheben" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "aufheben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abheben" and "aufheben" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "abheben" or "aufheben" show up more?
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 "abheben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufheben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,855,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abheben" and "aufheben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abheben vs abzuheben". 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 #1,855,659 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.