Which to use
“anfassen” and “aufessen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,037
- “anfassen” frequency rank
- #47,957
- “aufessen” frequency rank
- 57994
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anfassen | aufessen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit der Hand oder den Fingern absichtlich berühren | etwas vollständig essen, so dass kein (essbarer) Rest übrig bleibt |
Where the eye mixes anfassen and aufessen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. anfassen (VCCVCCVC) and aufessen (VVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses anfassen with aufessen
A purely visual mix-up. anfassen ([ˈanˌfasn̩]) and aufessen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌʔɛsn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57994, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anfassen is recorded at frequency rank #10,037, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌfasn̩]. aufessen is at rank #47,957, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌʔɛsn̩].
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 57994, this pair ranks #879,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of anfassen vs aufessen
Shared letters: aefns. Private to "anfassen": -. Private to "aufessen": u.
"anfassen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "aufessen" · 8 letters · shape VVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "anfassen" and "aufessen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "anfassen" or "aufessen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "anfassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufessen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #879,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anfassen" and "aufessen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufessen vs auffassen". 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 #879,729 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.