abzulösenvsaufzulösenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#45,095
“abzulösen” frequency rank
#16,638
“aufzulösen” frequency rank
61733
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzulösen aufzulösen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs ablösen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs auflösen

Where the eye mixes abzulösen and aufzulösen

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

9 ch
abzulösen
10 ch
aufzulösen

Look-alike desk: abzulösen vs aufzulösen

A purely visual mix-up. abzulösen ([ˈapt͡suˌløːzn̩]) and aufzulösen ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌløːzn̩]) 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 61733, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzulösen is recorded at frequency rank #45,095, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌløːzn̩]. aufzulösen is at rank #16,638, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌløːzn̩].

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 61733, this pair ranks #738,665 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abzulösen vs aufzulösen

Shared letters: aelnsuzö. Private to "abzulösen": b. Private to "aufzulösen": f.

"abzulösen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC  ·  "aufzulösen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "abzulösen" and "aufzulösen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌløːzn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌløːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "abzulösen" or "aufzulösen" show up more?
"aufzulösen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,638 in our German list, against #45,095 for "abzulösen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "abzulösen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufzulösen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #738,665 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzulösen" and "aufzulösen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzulesen vs abzulösen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #738,665 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