Which to use
“aufgeben” and “aufheben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,249
- “aufgeben” frequency rank
- #11,009
- “aufheben” frequency rank
- 15258
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufgeben | aufheben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas Sinnloses beenden, aufhören, einstellen; etwas beenden, obwohl der Sinn im Weitermachen besteht | etwas nehmen, aufnehmen (was auf dem Boden liegt) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aufgeben and aufheben apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. aufgeben ([ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːbn̩]) and aufheben ([ˈaʊ̯fˌheːbn̩]) 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 a single letter - g in “aufgeben” becomes h in “aufheben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufgeben is recorded at frequency rank #4,249, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːbn̩]. aufheben is at rank #11,009, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌheːbn̩].
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 15258, this pair ranks #1,945,245 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aufgeben vs aufheben
Shared letters: abefnu. Private to "aufgeben": g. Private to "aufheben": h.
"aufgeben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC · "aufheben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "aufgeben" and "aufheben" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "aufgeben" or "aufheben"?
Remembering aufgeben vs aufheben
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 “aufgeben” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable