Which to use
“anpassen” and “aufpassen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,268
- “anpassen” frequency rank
- #5,243
- “aufpassen” frequency rank
- 11511
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | anpassen | aufpassen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas passend machen, angleichen | etwas aufmerksam verfolgen |
Where the eye mixes anpassen and aufpassen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. anpassen runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against aufpassen's 9 (VVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: anpassen vs aufpassen
A purely visual mix-up. anpassen ([ˈanˌpasn̩]) and aufpassen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌpasn̩]) 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 11511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
anpassen is recorded at frequency rank #6,268, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈanˌpasn̩]. aufpassen is at rank #5,243, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌpasn̩].
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 11511, this pair ranks #1,969,509 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of anpassen vs aufpassen
Shared letters: aenps. Private to "anpassen": -. Private to "aufpassen": fu.
"anpassen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "aufpassen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "anpassen" and "aufpassen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "anpassen" or "aufpassen" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "anpassen" and "aufpassen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "anpassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufpassen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,969,509 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "anpassen" and "aufpassen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufessen vs aufpassen". 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 #1,969,509 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.