aufgegebenvsaufzugebenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,097
“aufgegeben” frequency rank
#10,422
“aufzugeben” frequency rank
14519
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufgegeben aufzugeben
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs aufgeben erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aufgeben

Where the eye mixes aufgegeben and aufzugeben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. aufgegeben and aufzugeben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
aufgegeben
10 ch
aufzugeben

Look-alike desk: aufgegeben vs aufzugeben

A purely visual mix-up. aufgegeben ([ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌɡeːbn̩]) and aufzugeben ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌɡeːbn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14519, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufgegeben is recorded at frequency rank #4,097, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌɡeːbn̩]. aufzugeben is at rank #10,422, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌɡeːbn̩].

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 14519, this pair ranks #1,950,632 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aufgegeben vs aufzugeben

Shared letters: abefgnu. Private to "aufgegeben": -. Private to "aufzugeben": z.

"aufgegeben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC  ·  "aufzugeben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufgegebenafugegeben · aufeggeben · auffgegeben · aufgeegben · aufgegbeen · aufgegebben · aufgegebenn · aufgegebne
  • aufzugebenafuzugeben · auffzugeben · aufuzgeben · aufzgueben · aufzuegben · aufzugbeen · aufzugebben · aufzugebenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "aufgegeben" and "aufzugeben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌɡeːbn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌɡeːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aufgegeben" vs "aufzugeben" - which ranks higher?
"aufgegeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,097 in our German list, against #10,422 for "aufzugeben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufgegeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufzugeben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,950,632 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aufgegeben" and "aufzugeben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufzugeben vs Aufzügen". 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 #1,950,632 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