abzudeckenvsaufzudeckenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#33,943
“abzudecken” frequency rank
#27,632
“aufzudecken” frequency rank
61575
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzudecken aufzudecken
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abdecken erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aufdecken

Where the eye mixes abzudecken and aufzudecken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abzudecken runs 10 letters (VCCVCVCCVC) against aufzudecken's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
abzudecken
11 ch
aufzudecken

Why the eye confuses abzudecken with aufzudecken

A purely visual mix-up. abzudecken ([ˈapt͡suˌdɛkn̩]) and aufzudecken ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌdɛkn̩]) 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 61575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzudecken is recorded at frequency rank #33,943, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌdɛkn̩]. aufzudecken is at rank #27,632, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌdɛkn̩].

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 61575, this pair ranks #744,640 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abzudecken vs aufzudecken

Shared letters: acdeknuz. Private to "abzudecken": b. Private to "aufzudecken": f.

"abzudecken" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC  ·  "aufzudecken" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzudecken ← abbzudecken · abuzdecken · abzduecken · abzudceken · abzuddecken · abzudeccken · abzudecekn · abzudeckenn
  • aufzudecken ← afuzudecken · auffzudecken · aufuzdecken · aufzduecken · aufzudceken · aufzuddecken · aufzudeccken · aufzudecekn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abzudecken" and "aufzudecken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌdɛkn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌdɛkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "abzudecken" vs "aufzudecken" - which ranks higher?
"aufzudecken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,632 in our German list, against #33,943 for "abzudecken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzudecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufzudecken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #744,640 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzudecken" and "aufzudecken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufzudecken vs auszudenken". 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 #744,640 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