AbsätzevsAufsätzeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#20,151
“Absätze” frequency rank
#12,662
“Aufsätze” frequency rank
32813
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Absätze Aufsätze
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Absatz Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Aufsatz

Where the eye mixes Absätze and Aufsätze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Absätze runs 7 letters (VCCVCCV) against Aufsätze's 8 (VVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Absätze
8 ch
Aufsätze

Visual trap between Absätze and Aufsätze

A purely visual mix-up. Absätze ([ˈapˌzɛt͡sə]) and Aufsätze ([ˈaʊ̯fˌzɛt͡sə]) 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 32813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Absätze is recorded at frequency rank #20,151, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈapˌzɛt͡sə]. Aufsätze is at rank #12,662, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌzɛt͡sə].

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 32813, this pair ranks #1,699,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Absätze vs Aufsätze

Shared letters: aestzä. Private to "Absätze": b. Private to "Aufsätze": fu.

"Absätze" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "Aufsätze" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Absätze" and "Aufsätze" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌzɛt͡sə] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌzɛt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Absätze" or "Aufsätze" show up more?
"Aufsätze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,662 in our German list, against #20,151 for "Absätze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Absätze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Aufsätze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,699,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Absätze" and "Aufsätze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Absätze vs absetzt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,699,498 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