aufdeckenvsAufdeckungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: aufdecken is a verb, Aufdeckung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aufdecken” is a verb and “Aufdeckung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,017
“aufdecken” frequency rank
#33,975
“Aufdeckung” frequency rank
56992
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufdecken Aufdeckung
Definition eine Decke zurückschlagen (zum Beispiel auf einem Bett) Aufschlagen, Wegnehmen einer Decke, Plane oder dergleichen

Where the eye mixes aufdecken and Aufdeckung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. aufdecken runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against Aufdeckung's 10 (VVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
aufdecken
10 ch
Aufdeckung

Look-alike desk: aufdecken vs Aufdeckung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aufdecken is [ˈaʊ̯fˌdɛkn̩] while Aufdeckung is [ˈaʊ̯fˌdɛkʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56992, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufdecken is recorded at frequency rank #23,017, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌdɛkn̩]. Aufdeckung is at rank #33,975, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌdɛkʊŋ].

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 56992, this pair ranks #918,751 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aufdecken vs Aufdeckung

Shared letters: acdefknu. Private to "aufdecken": -. Private to "Aufdeckung": g.

"aufdecken" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "Aufdeckung" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufdecken ← afudecken · audfecken · aufdceken · aufddecken · aufdeccken · aufdecekn · aufdeckenn · aufdeckken
  • Aufdeckung ← afudeckung · audfeckung · aufdcekung · aufddeckung · aufdecckung · aufdeckkung · aufdecknug · aufdeckugn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufdecken" and "Aufdeckung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aufdecken" is a verb and "Aufdeckung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aufdecken" or "Aufdeckung"?
"aufdecken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,017 in our German list, against #33,975 for "Aufdeckung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufdecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Aufdeckung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #918,751 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aufdecken" and "Aufdeckung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufdecken vs aufwecken". 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 #918,751 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