AnstellungvsAufstellungTell them apart

Which to use

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

#12,448
“Anstellung” frequency rank
#5,142
“Aufstellung” frequency rank
17590
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Anstellung Aufstellung
Definition Vereinbarung, dass jemand eine bestimmte Arbeitsstelle einnehmen soll Auflistung von Daten

Where the eye mixes Anstellung and Aufstellung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Anstellung runs 10 letters (VCCCVCCVCC) against Aufstellung's 11 (VVCCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Anstellung
11 ch
Aufstellung

Look-alike desk: Anstellung vs Aufstellung

A purely visual mix-up. Anstellung ([ˈanˌʃtɛlʊŋ]) and Aufstellung ([ˈaʊ̯fˌʃtɛlʊŋ]) 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 17590, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Anstellung is recorded at frequency rank #12,448, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈanˌʃtɛlʊŋ]. Aufstellung is at rank #5,142, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌʃtɛlʊŋ].

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 17590, this pair ranks #1,926,023 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Anstellung vs Aufstellung

Shared letters: aeglnstu. Private to "Anstellung": -. Private to "Aufstellung": f.

"Anstellung" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVCC  ·  "Aufstellung" · 11 letters · shape VVCCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Anstellungannstellung · ansetllung · ansstellung · anstellnug · anstellugn · anstellungg · anstellunng · anstelulng
  • Aufstellungafustellung · auffstellung · aufsetllung · aufsstellung · aufstellnug · aufstellugn · aufstellungg · aufstellunng

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Anstellung" for "Aufstellung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanˌʃtɛlʊŋ] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌʃtɛlʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Anstellung" or "Aufstellung"?
"Aufstellung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,142 in our German list, against #12,448 for "Anstellung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Anstellung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Aufstellung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,926,023 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Anstellung" and "Aufstellung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ansteckung vs Anstellung". 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 #1,926,023 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