aufdeckenvsausdenkenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#23,017
“aufdecken” frequency rank
#12,025
“ausdenken” frequency rank
35042
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufdecken ausdenken
Definition eine Decke zurückschlagen (zum Beispiel auf einem Bett) sich etwas Neues überlegen

Where the eye mixes aufdecken and ausdenken

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aufdecken and ausdenken follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
aufdecken
9 ch
ausdenken

Look-alike desk: aufdecken vs ausdenken

A purely visual mix-up. aufdecken ([ˈaʊ̯fˌdɛkn̩]) and ausdenken ([ˈaʊ̯sˌdɛŋkn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35042, 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]. ausdenken is at rank #12,025, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌdɛŋkn̩].

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 35042, this pair ranks #1,649,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aufdecken vs ausdenken

Shared letters: adeknu. Private to "aufdecken": cf. Private to "ausdenken": s.

"aufdecken" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC  ·  "ausdenken" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufdecken ← afudecken · audfecken · aufdceken · aufddecken · aufdeccken · aufdecekn · aufdeckenn · aufdeckken
  • ausdenken ← asudenken · audsenken · ausddenken · ausdeknen · ausdenekn · ausdenkenn · ausdenkken · ausdenkne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "aufdecken" for "ausdenken" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌdɛkn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌdɛŋkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aufdecken" vs "ausdenken" - which ranks higher?
"ausdenken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,025 in our German list, against #23,017 for "aufdecken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufdecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausdenken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,649,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aufdecken" and "ausdenken" 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 #1,649,426 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