auffliegenvsauflegenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,592
“auffliegen” frequency rank
#17,511
“auflegen” frequency rank
56103
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature auffliegen auflegen
Definition sich durch Flügelbewegung vom Boden lösen etwas auf etwas liegend positionieren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set auffliegen and auflegen apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
auffliegen
8 ch
auflegen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. auffliegen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌfliːɡn̩]) and auflegen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌleːɡn̩]) 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 56103, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

auffliegen is recorded at frequency rank #38,592, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌfliːɡn̩]. auflegen is at rank #17,511, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌleːɡn̩].

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 56103, this pair ranks #953,428 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of auffliegen vs auflegen

Shared letters: aefglnu. Private to "auffliegen": i. Private to "auflegen": -.

"auffliegen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC  ·  "auflegen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • auffliegenafufliegen · auffilegen · auffleigen · aufflieegn · auffliegenn · aufflieggen · auffliegne · auffligeen
  • auflegenafulegen · aufelgen · aufflegen · aufleegn · auflegenn · aufleggen · auflegne · auflgeen

Frequency comparison

auffliegen#38,592
auflegen#17,511

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "auffliegen" and "auflegen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌfliːɡn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌleːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "auffliegen" or "auflegen"?
"auflegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,511 in our German list, against #38,592 for "auffliegen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering auffliegen vs auflegen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “auffliegen” 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