Which to use
“abschreiben” and “aufschreiben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,402
- “abschreiben” frequency rank
- #21,168
- “aufschreiben” frequency rank
- 44570
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abschreiben | aufschreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Text eines anderen übernehmen, kopieren und ihn als eigenes Werk ausgeben | etwas schriftlich festhalten_([4]), niederschreiben, notieren, vermerken |
Where the eye mixes abschreiben and aufschreiben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. abschreiben runs 11 letters (VCCCCCVVCVC) against aufschreiben's 12 (VVCCCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abschreiben with aufschreiben
A purely visual mix-up. abschreiben ([ˈapˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]) and aufschreiben ([ˈaʊ̯fˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]) 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 44570, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abschreiben is recorded at frequency rank #23,402, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]. aufschreiben is at rank #21,168, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌʃʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 44570, this pair ranks #1,381,908 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of abschreiben vs aufschreiben
Shared letters: abcehinrs. Private to "abschreiben": -. Private to "aufschreiben": fu.
"abschreiben" · 11 letters · shape VCCCCCVVCVC · "aufschreiben" · 12 letters · shape VVCCCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abschreiben ← abbschreiben · abcshreiben · abscchreiben · abscheriben · abschhreiben · abschrebien · abschreibben · abschreibenn
- aufschreiben ← afuschreiben · aufcshreiben · auffschreiben · aufscchreiben · aufscheriben · aufschhreiben · aufschrebien · aufschreibben
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abschreiben" and "aufschreiben" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "abschreiben" or "aufschreiben"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abschreiben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufschreiben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,381,908 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abschreiben" and "aufschreiben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abschreiben vs Abschreibung". 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 #1,381,908 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.