abstellenvsaufstellenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,221
“abstellen” frequency rank
#6,152
“aufstellen” frequency rank
18373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abstellen aufstellen
Definition aus der Hand legen und auf einer Fläche platzieren etwas aufrichten

Where the eye mixes abstellen and aufstellen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. abstellen runs 9 letters (VCCCVCCVC) against aufstellen's 10 (VVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
abstellen
10 ch
aufstellen

Look-alike desk: abstellen vs aufstellen

A purely visual mix-up. abstellen ([ˈapˌʃtɛlən]) and aufstellen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌʃtɛlən]) 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 18373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abstellen is recorded at frequency rank #12,221, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌʃtɛlən]. aufstellen is at rank #6,152, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌʃtɛlən].

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 18373, this pair ranks #1,918,865 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abstellen vs aufstellen

Shared letters: aelnst. Private to "abstellen": b. Private to "aufstellen": fu.

"abstellen" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "aufstellen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abstellen ← abbstellen · absetllen · absstellen · absteleln · abstelen · abstellenn · abstellne · abstlelen
  • aufstellen ← afustellen · auffstellen · aufsetllen · aufsstellen · aufsteleln · aufstelen · aufstellenn · aufstellne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abstellen" and "aufstellen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapˌʃtɛlən] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌʃtɛlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abstellen" or "aufstellen"?
"aufstellen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,152 in our German list, against #12,221 for "abstellen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abstellen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufstellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,918,865 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abstellen" and "aufstellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufstellen vs aufstellte". 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 #1,918,865 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