aufgetretenvsaufzutretenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,612
“aufgetreten” frequency rank
#18,810
“aufzutreten” frequency rank
29422
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufgetreten aufzutreten
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs auftreten erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs auftreten

Where the eye mixes aufgetreten and aufzutreten

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

11 ch
aufgetreten
11 ch
aufzutreten

Why the eye confuses aufgetreten with aufzutreten

A purely visual mix-up. aufgetreten ([ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌtʁeːtn̩]) and aufzutreten ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌtʁeːtn̩]) 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 29422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufgetreten is recorded at frequency rank #10,612, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌtʁeːtn̩]. aufzutreten is at rank #18,810, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌtʁeːtn̩].

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 29422, this pair ranks #1,767,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aufgetreten vs aufzutreten

Shared letters: aefnrtu. Private to "aufgetreten": g. Private to "aufzutreten": z.

"aufgetreten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCVC  ·  "aufzutreten" · 11 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufgetretenafugetreten · aufegtreten · auffgetreten · aufgerteten · aufgeterten · aufgetreetn · aufgetretenn · aufgetretne
  • aufzutretenafuzutreten · auffzutreten · aufuztreten · aufztureten · aufzurteten · aufzuterten · aufzutreetn · aufzutretenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufgetreten" and "aufzutreten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fɡəˌtʁeːtn̩] versus [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌtʁeːtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aufgetreten" vs "aufzutreten" - which ranks higher?
"aufgetreten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,612 in our German list, against #18,810 for "aufzutreten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufgetreten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufzutreten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,767,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aufgetreten" and "aufzutreten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufzutreiben vs aufzutreten". 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 #1,767,081 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