aufdrehenvsAufsehenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#41,659
“aufdrehen” frequency rank
#10,419
“Aufsehen” frequency rank
52078
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufdrehen Aufsehen
Definition drehend öffnen besondere öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aufdrehen and Aufsehen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
aufdrehen
8 ch
Aufsehen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aufdrehen is [ˈaʊ̯fˌdʁeːən] while Aufsehen is [ˈaʊ̯fˌzeːən]. 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 52078, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufdrehen is recorded at frequency rank #41,659, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌdʁeːən]. Aufsehen is at rank #10,419, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌzeːən].

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 52078, this pair ranks #1,110,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aufdrehen vs Aufsehen

Shared letters: aefhnu. Private to "aufdrehen": dr. Private to "Aufsehen": s.

"aufdrehen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC  ·  "Aufsehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufdrehenafudrehen · audfrehen · aufddrehen · aufderhen · aufdreehn · aufdrehenn · aufdrehhen · aufdrehne
  • Aufsehenafusehen · aufeshen · auffsehen · aufseehn · aufsehenn · aufsehhen · aufsehne · aufsheen

Frequency comparison

aufdrehen#41,659
Aufsehen#10,419

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufdrehen" and "Aufsehen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aufdrehen" is a verb and "Aufsehen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aufdrehen" or "Aufsehen"?
"Aufsehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,419 in our German list, against #41,659 for "aufdrehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aufdrehen vs Aufsehen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “aufdrehen”; for a noun, it's “Aufsehen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aufdrehen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list