Which to use
“aufgehen” and “aufheben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,355
- “aufgehen” frequency rank
- #11,009
- “aufheben” frequency rank
- 27364
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufgehen | aufheben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich öffnen | etwas nehmen, aufnehmen (was auf dem Boden liegt) |
Where the eye mixes aufgehen and aufheben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. aufgehen and aufheben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: aufgehen vs aufheben
A purely visual mix-up. aufgehen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːən]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27364, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufgehen is recorded at frequency rank #16,355, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡeːən]. 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 27364, this pair ranks #1,802,975 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aufgehen vs aufheben
Shared letters: aefhnu. Private to "aufgehen": g. Private to "aufheben": b.
"aufgehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC · "aufheben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aufgehen" for "aufheben" ever safe?
Which is more common, "aufgehen" or "aufheben"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufgehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufheben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,802,975 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufgehen" and "aufheben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufdrehen vs aufgehen". 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 #1,802,975 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.