Which to use
“aufheben” and “aufzuheben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,009
- “aufheben” frequency rank
- #19,136
- “aufzuheben” frequency rank
- 30145
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufheben | aufzuheben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas nehmen, aufnehmen (was auf dem Boden liegt) | erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs aufheben |
Where the eye mixes aufheben and aufzuheben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. aufheben runs 8 letters (VVCCVCVC) against aufzuheben's 10 (VVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between aufheben and aufzuheben
A purely visual mix-up. aufheben ([ˈaʊ̯fˌheːbn̩]) and aufzuheben ([ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌheːbn̩]) 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 30145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufheben is recorded at frequency rank #11,009, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌheːbn̩]. aufzuheben is at rank #19,136, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯ft͡suˌheːbn̩].
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 30145, this pair ranks #1,753,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aufheben vs aufzuheben
Shared letters: abefhnu. Private to "aufheben": -. Private to "aufzuheben": z.
"aufheben" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC · "aufzuheben" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aufheben ← afuheben · aufehben · auffheben · aufhbeen · aufhebben · aufhebenn · aufhebne · aufheebn
- aufzuheben ← afuzuheben · auffzuheben · aufuzheben · aufzhueben · aufzuehben · aufzuhbeen · aufzuhebben · aufzuhebenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "aufheben" and "aufzuheben" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "aufheben" or "aufzuheben" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "aufheben" and "aufzuheben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufheben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufzuheben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,753,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufheben" and "aufzuheben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufzuheben vs aufzuholen". 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 #1,753,539 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.