Which to use
“Aufgabe” is a noun and “aufgeben” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,027
- “Aufgabe” frequency rank
- #4,249
- “aufgeben” frequency rank
- 5276
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Aufgabe | aufgeben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas, das zu erledigen ist; Arbeitsauftrag | etwas Sinnloses beenden, aufhören, einstellen; etwas beenden, obwohl der Sinn im Weitermachen besteht |
Where the eye mixes Aufgabe and aufgeben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Aufgabe with aufgeben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Aufgabe is [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡaːbə] while aufgeben is [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːbn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5276, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Aufgabe is recorded at frequency rank #1,027, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡaːbə]. aufgeben is at rank #4,249, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːbn̩].
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 5276, this pair ranks #1,995,278 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Aufgabe vs aufgeben
Shared letters: abefgu. Private to "Aufgabe": -. Private to "aufgeben": n.
"Aufgabe" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCV · "aufgeben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Aufgabe" and "aufgeben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Aufgabe" or "aufgeben" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Aufgabe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufgeben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,995,278 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Aufgabe" and "aufgeben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Aufgabe vs ausgab". 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 #1,995,278 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.