Which to use
“aufgreifen” and “aufzugreifen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,446
- “aufgreifen” frequency rank
- #39,802
- “aufzugreifen” frequency rank
- 65248
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufgreifen | aufzugreifen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (Personen) wahrnehmen und mitnehmen | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aufgreifen |
Where the eye mixes aufgreifen and aufzugreifen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. aufgreifen runs 10 letters (VVCCCVVCVC) against aufzugreifen's 12 (VVCCVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between aufgreifen and aufzugreifen
A purely visual mix-up. aufgreifen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]) and aufzugreifen ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufgreifen is recorded at frequency rank #25,446, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌɡʁaɪ̯fn̩]. aufzugreifen is at rank #39,802, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌɡʁaɪ̯fn̩].
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 65248, this pair ranks #613,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aufgreifen vs aufzugreifen
Shared letters: aefginru. Private to "aufgreifen": -. Private to "aufzugreifen": z.
"aufgreifen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC · "aufzugreifen" · 12 letters · shape VVCCVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aufgreifen ← afugreifen · auffgreifen · aufgerifen · aufggreifen · aufgrefien · aufgreiefn · aufgreifenn · aufgreiffen
- aufzugreifen ← afuzugreifen · auffzugreifen · aufuzgreifen · aufzgureifen · aufzugerifen · aufzuggreifen · aufzugrefien · aufzugreiefn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "aufgreifen" and "aufzugreifen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "aufgreifen" or "aufzugreifen"?
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 "aufgreifen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufzugreifen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #613,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufgreifen" and "aufzugreifen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufzugreifen vs aufzutreiben". 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 #613,439 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.