AnwendungenvsAufwendungenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,627
“Anwendungen” frequency rank
#14,009
“Aufwendungen” frequency rank
20636
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Anwendungen Aufwendungen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Anwendung Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Aufwendung

Where the eye mixes Anwendungen and Aufwendungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Anwendungen runs 11 letters (VCCVCCVCCVC) against Aufwendungen's 12 (VVCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Anwendungen
12 ch
Aufwendungen

Why the eye confuses Anwendungen with Aufwendungen

A purely visual mix-up. Anwendungen ([ˈanvɛndʊŋən]) and Aufwendungen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndʊŋən]) 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 20636, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Anwendungen is recorded at frequency rank #6,627, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈanvɛndʊŋən]. Aufwendungen is at rank #14,009, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndʊŋən].

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 20636, this pair ranks #1,895,470 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Anwendungen vs Aufwendungen

Shared letters: adegnuw. Private to "Anwendungen": -. Private to "Aufwendungen": f.

"Anwendungen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC  ·  "Aufwendungen" · 12 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Anwendungen ← anewndungen · annwendungen · anwednungen · anwenddungen · anwendnugen · anwendugnen · anwendunegn · anwendungenn
  • Aufwendungen ← afuwendungen · aufewndungen · auffwendungen · aufwednungen · aufwenddungen · aufwendnugen · aufwendugnen · aufwendunegn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Anwendungen" for "Aufwendungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈanvɛndʊŋən] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌvɛndʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Anwendungen" or "Aufwendungen"?
"Anwendungen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,627 in our German list, against #14,009 for "Aufwendungen". 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 "Anwendungen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Aufwendungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,895,470 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Anwendungen" and "Aufwendungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufwendigen vs Aufwendungen". 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 #1,895,470 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