AufbauvsAufbausConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#2,189
“Aufbau” frequency rank
#34,521
“Aufbaus” frequency rank
36710
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Aufbau Aufbaus
Definition der Vorgang des Aufbauens eines Gebäudes, eines Systems oder einer sonstwie gearteten Struktur Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Aufbau

Where the eye mixes Aufbau and Aufbaus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Aufbau runs 6 letters (VVCCVV) against Aufbaus's 7 (VVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Aufbau
7 ch
Aufbaus

Visual trap between Aufbau and Aufbaus

A purely visual mix-up. Aufbau ([ˈaʊ̯fˌbaʊ̯]) and Aufbaus ([ˈaʊ̯fˌbaʊ̯s]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Aufbau” sits inside “Aufbaus”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36710, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Aufbau is recorded at frequency rank #2,189, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌbaʊ̯]. Aufbaus is at rank #34,521, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌbaʊ̯s].

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 36710, this pair ranks #1,608,662 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Aufbau vs Aufbaus

Shared letters: abfu. Private to "Aufbau": -. Private to "Aufbaus": s.

"Aufbau" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVV  ·  "Aufbaus" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Aufbau ← afubau · aubfau · aufabu · aufbbau · aufbua · auffbau · uafbau
  • Aufbaus ← afubaus · aubfaus · aufabus · aufbasu · aufbauss · aufbbaus · aufbuas · auffbaus

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Aufbau" and "Aufbaus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌbaʊ̯] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌbaʊ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Aufbau" or "Aufbaus" show up more?
"Aufbau" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,189 in our German list, against #34,521 for "Aufbaus". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Aufbau" and "Aufbaus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Aufbau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Aufbaus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,608,662 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Aufbau" and "Aufbaus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Aufbaus vs Ausbaus". 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 #1,608,662 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