Which to use
“abtreten” and “auftreten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,152
- “abtreten” frequency rank
- #2,485
- “auftreten” frequency rank
- 22637
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abtreten | auftreten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit einem Tritt entfernen | in Erscheinung treten; sich (gelegentlich) ereignen |
Where the eye mixes abtreten and auftreten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. abtreten runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against auftreten's 9 (VVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abtreten vs auftreten
A purely visual mix-up. abtreten ([ˈapˌtʁeːtn̩]) and auftreten ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁeːtn̩]) 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 22637, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abtreten is recorded at frequency rank #20,152, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapˌtʁeːtn̩]. auftreten is at rank #2,485, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁeːtn̩].
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 22637, this pair ranks #1,871,683 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abtreten vs auftreten
Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "abtreten": b. Private to "auftreten": fu.
"abtreten" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "auftreten" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "abtreten" and "auftreten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "abtreten" or "auftreten"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "abtreten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "auftreten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,871,683 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abtreten" and "auftreten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abtragen vs abtreten". 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 #1,871,683 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.