Which to use
“ablösen” and “auflösen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,483
- “ablösen” frequency rank
- #9,851
- “auflösen” frequency rank
- 30334
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ablösen | auflösen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Aufgabe für jemanden übernehmen, jemanden ersetzen | eine Ansammlung zerstreuen |
Where the eye mixes ablösen and auflösen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ablösen runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against auflösen's 8 (VVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ablösen with auflösen
A purely visual mix-up. ablösen ([ˈapˌløːzn̩]) and auflösen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌløːzn̩]) 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 30334, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ablösen is recorded at frequency rank #20,483, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌløːzn̩]. auflösen is at rank #9,851, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌløːzn̩].
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 30334, this pair ranks #1,749,925 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ablösen vs auflösen
Shared letters: aelnsö. Private to "ablösen": b. Private to "auflösen": fu.
"ablösen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "auflösen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ablösen" and "auflösen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "ablösen" or "auflösen" 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 "ablösen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "auflösen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,749,925 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ablösen" and "auflösen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ablösen vs abzulösen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,749,925 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.