Which to use
“abzunehmen” and “aufzunehmen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,793
- “abzunehmen” frequency rank
- #4,860
- “aufzunehmen” frequency rank
- 22653
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abzunehmen | aufzunehmen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abnehmen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aufnehmen |
Where the eye mixes abzunehmen and aufzunehmen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. abzunehmen runs 10 letters (VCCVCVCCVC) against aufzunehmen's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: abzunehmen vs aufzunehmen
A purely visual mix-up. abzunehmen ([ˈapt͡suˌneːmən]) and aufzunehmen ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌneːmən]) 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 22653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abzunehmen is recorded at frequency rank #17,793, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌneːmən]. aufzunehmen is at rank #4,860, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌneːmən].
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 22653, this pair ranks #1,871,455 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of abzunehmen vs aufzunehmen
Shared letters: aehmnuz. Private to "abzunehmen": b. Private to "aufzunehmen": f.
"abzunehmen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC · "aufzunehmen" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- abzunehmen ← abbzunehmen · abuznehmen · abznuehmen · abzuenhmen · abzunehemn · abzunehhmen · abzunehmenn · abzunehmmen
- aufzunehmen ← afuzunehmen · auffzunehmen · aufuznehmen · aufznuehmen · aufzuenhmen · aufzunehemn · aufzunehhmen · aufzunehmenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abzunehmen" for "aufzunehmen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "abzunehmen" or "aufzunehmen" show up more?
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 "abzunehmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufzunehmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,871,455 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abzunehmen" and "aufzunehmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzunehmen vs abzuwehren". 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 #1,871,455 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.