angehenvsaufgehenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,757
“angehen” frequency rank
#16,355
“aufgehen” frequency rank
23112
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature angehen aufgehen
Definition ein Gerät zum Laufen bringen, einschalten sich öffnen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set angehen and aufgehen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
angehen
8 ch
aufgehen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. angehen ([ˈanˌɡeːən]) and aufgehen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːən]) 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 23112, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

angehen is recorded at frequency rank #6,757, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌɡeːən]. aufgehen is at rank #16,355, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːən].

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 23112, this pair ranks #1,865,636 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of angehen vs aufgehen

Shared letters: aeghn. Private to "angehen": -. Private to "aufgehen": fu.

"angehen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "aufgehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • angehenagnehen · aneghen · angeehn · angehenn · angehhen · angehne · anggehen · angheen
  • aufgehenafugehen · aufeghen · auffgehen · aufgeehn · aufgehenn · aufgehhen · aufgehne · aufggehen

Frequency comparison

angehen#6,757
aufgehen#16,355

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "angehen" and "aufgehen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌɡeːən] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "angehen" or "aufgehen"?
"angehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,757 in our German list, against #16,355 for "aufgehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering angehen vs aufgehen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “angehen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list