AktievsAktionWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,139
“Aktie” frequency rank
#1,377
“Aktion” frequency rank
7516
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Aktie Aktion
Definition Anteilsschein am Grundkapital einer Aktiengesellschaft Unternehmung, um etwas Bestimmtes zu erreichen

Where the eye mixes Aktie and Aktion

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Aktie
6 ch
Aktion

Visual trap between Aktie and Aktion

A purely visual mix-up. Aktie ([ˈakt͡si̯ə]) and Aktion ([akˈt͡si̯oːn]) 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 7516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Aktie is recorded at frequency rank #6,139, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈakt͡si̯ə]. Aktion is at rank #1,377, tagged as anoun, pronounced [akˈt͡si̯oːn].

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 7516, this pair ranks #1,987,863 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Aktie vs Aktion

Shared letters: aikt. Private to "Aktie": e. Private to "Aktion": no.

"Aktie" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV  ·  "Aktion" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Aktieakite · akktie · aktei · akttie · atkie · katie
  • Aktionakiton · akktion · aktino · aktionn · aktoin · akttion · atkion · kation

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Aktie" for "Aktion" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈakt͡si̯ə] versus [akˈt͡si̯oːn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Aktie" or "Aktion"?
"Aktion" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,377 in our German list, against #6,139 for "Aktie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Aktie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Aktion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,987,863 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Aktie" and "Aktion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Aktie vs Atze". 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 #1,987,863 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