abzustellenvsaufzustellenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,596
“abzustellen” frequency rank
#11,812
“aufzustellen” frequency rank
39408
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abzustellen aufzustellen
Definition erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs abstellen erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aufstellen

Where the eye mixes abzustellen and aufzustellen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. abzustellen runs 11 letters (VCCVCCVCCVC) against aufzustellen's 12 (VVCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
abzustellen
12 ch
aufzustellen

Visual trap between abzustellen and aufzustellen

A purely visual mix-up. abzustellen ([ˈapt͡suˌʃtɛlən]) and aufzustellen ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌʃtɛlən]) 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 39408, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abzustellen is recorded at frequency rank #27,596, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈapt͡suˌʃtɛlən]. aufzustellen is at rank #11,812, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌʃtɛlən].

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 39408, this pair ranks #1,537,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abzustellen vs aufzustellen

Shared letters: aelnstuz. Private to "abzustellen": b. Private to "aufzustellen": f.

"abzustellen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC  ·  "aufzustellen" · 12 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abzustellen ← abbzustellen · abuzstellen · abzsutellen · abzusetllen · abzusstellen · abzusteleln · abzustelen · abzustellenn
  • aufzustellen ← afuzustellen · auffzustellen · aufuzstellen · aufzsutellen · aufzusetllen · aufzusstellen · aufzusteleln · aufzustelen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abzustellen" and "aufzustellen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈapt͡suˌʃtɛlən] versus [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌʃtɛlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abzustellen" or "aufzustellen"?
"aufzustellen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,812 in our German list, against #27,596 for "abzustellen". 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 "abzustellen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufzustellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,537,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abzustellen" and "aufzustellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abzustellen vs auszustellen". 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 #1,537,639 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