aufführtvsausführteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,211
“aufführt” frequency rank
#32,424
“ausführte” frequency rank
71635
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufführt ausführte
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs aufführen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs ausführen

Where the eye mixes aufführt and ausführte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aufführt runs 8 letters (VVCCVCCC) against ausführte's 9 (VVCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
aufführt
9 ch
ausführte

Why the eye confuses aufführt with ausführte

A purely visual mix-up. aufführt ([ˈaʊ̯fˌfyːɐ̯t]) and ausführte ([ˈaʊ̯sˌfyːɐ̯tə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufführt is recorded at frequency rank #39,211, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌfyːɐ̯t]. ausführte is at rank #32,424, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌfyːɐ̯tə].

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 71635, this pair ranks #411,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of aufführt vs ausführte

Shared letters: afhrtuü. Private to "aufführt": -. Private to "ausführte": es.

"aufführt" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCCC  ·  "ausführte" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufführt" and "ausführte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌfyːɐ̯t] versus [ˈaʊ̯sˌfyːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aufführt" or "ausführte"?
"ausführte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,424 in our German list, against #39,211 for "aufführt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufführt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausführte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #411,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aufführt" and "ausführte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ausfahrten vs ausführte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #411,187 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