Which to use
“auffinden” and “aufzufinden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,045
- “auffinden” frequency rank
- #47,964
- “aufzufinden” frequency rank
- 73009
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | auffinden | aufzufinden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas Vermisstes oder jemanden, der verschwunden ist, manchmal nach längerer Suche, manchmal eher zufällig, wiederfinden | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs auffinden |
Where the eye mixes auffinden and aufzufinden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. auffinden runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against aufzufinden's 11 (VVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses auffinden with aufzufinden
A purely visual mix-up. auffinden ([ˈaʊ̯fˌfɪndn̩]) and aufzufinden ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌfɪndn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
auffinden is recorded at frequency rank #25,045, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌfɪndn̩]. aufzufinden is at rank #47,964, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌfɪndn̩].
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 73009, this pair ranks #372,249 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of auffinden vs aufzufinden
Shared letters: adefinu. Private to "auffinden": -. Private to "aufzufinden": z.
"auffinden" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "aufzufinden" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- auffinden ← afufinden · auffidnen · auffindden · auffindenn · auffindne · auffinedn · auffinnden · auffniden
- aufzufinden ← afuzufinden · auffzufinden · aufuzfinden · aufzfuinden · aufzuffinden · aufzufidnen · aufzufindden · aufzufindenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "auffinden" for "aufzufinden" ever safe?
Which is more common, "auffinden" or "aufzufinden"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "auffinden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufzufinden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #372,249 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "auffinden" and "aufzufinden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufzufangen vs aufzufinden". 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 #372,249 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.