aufgehobenvsausgehobenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,795
“aufgehoben” frequency rank
#35,641
“ausgehoben” frequency rank
39436
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufgehoben ausgehoben
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs aufheben Partizip Perfekt des Verbs ausheben

Where the eye mixes aufgehoben and ausgehoben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. aufgehoben and ausgehoben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
aufgehoben
10 ch
ausgehoben

Why the eye confuses aufgehoben with ausgehoben

A purely visual mix-up. aufgehoben ([ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌhoːbn̩]) and ausgehoben ([ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌhoːbn̩]) 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 - f in “aufgehoben” becomes s in “ausgehoben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufgehoben is recorded at frequency rank #3,795, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌhoːbn̩]. ausgehoben is at rank #35,641, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌhoːbn̩].

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 39436, this pair ranks #1,536,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aufgehoben vs ausgehoben

Shared letters: abeghnou. Private to "aufgehoben": f. Private to "ausgehoben": s.

"aufgehoben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC  ·  "ausgehoben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufgehobenafugehoben · aufeghoben · auffgehoben · aufgehboen · aufgehhoben · aufgehobben · aufgehobenn · aufgehobne
  • ausgehobenasugehoben · augsehoben · auseghoben · ausgehboen · ausgehhoben · ausgehobben · ausgehobenn · ausgehobne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufgehoben" and "ausgehoben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌhoːbn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯sɡəˌhoːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aufgehoben" vs "ausgehoben" - which ranks higher?
"aufgehoben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,795 in our German list, against #35,641 for "ausgehoben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufgehoben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ausgehoben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,536,875 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aufgehoben" and "ausgehoben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ausgehoben vs ausgewogen". 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 #1,536,875 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