AntragvsAuftragConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,014
“Antrag” frequency rank
#1,539
“Auftrag” frequency rank
3553
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Antrag Auftrag
Definition Gesuch, schriftliche Bitte mündliche oder schriftliche Aufforderungen einer Stelle oder einer Person an eine andere Stelle oder Person

Where the eye mixes Antrag and Auftrag

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Antrag
7 ch
Auftrag

Look-alike desk: Antrag vs Auftrag

A purely visual mix-up. Antrag ([ˈantʁaːk]) and Auftrag ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːk]) 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 3553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Antrag is recorded at frequency rank #2,014, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈantʁaːk]. Auftrag is at rank #1,539, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːk].

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 3553, this pair ranks #1,999,943 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Antrag vs Auftrag

Shared letters: agrt. Private to "Antrag": n. Private to "Auftrag": fu.

"Antrag" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC  ·  "Auftrag" · 7 letters · shape VVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Antraganntrag · anrtag · antarg · antragg · antrga · antrrag · anttrag · atnrag
  • Auftragafutrag · aufftrag · aufrtag · auftarg · auftragg · auftrga · auftrrag · aufttrag

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Antrag" for "Auftrag" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈantʁaːk] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Antrag" vs "Auftrag" - which ranks higher?
"Auftrag" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,539 in our German list, against #2,014 for "Antrag". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Antrag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Auftrag" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,999,943 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Antrag" and "Auftrag" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Auftrag vs Auftrags". 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 #1,999,943 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