aufholenvsauflösenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,629
“aufholen” frequency rank
#9,851
“auflösen” frequency rank
37480
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufholen auflösen
Definition oder einen Rückstand oder eine Verspätung verringern eine Ansammlung zerstreuen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aufholen and auflösen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
aufholen
8 ch
auflösen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. aufholen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhoːlən]) and auflösen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌløːzn̩]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufholen is recorded at frequency rank #27,629, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhoːlən]. auflösen is at rank #9,851, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌløːzn̩].

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 37480, this pair ranks #1,589,108 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aufholen vs auflösen

Shared letters: aeflnu. Private to "aufholen": ho. Private to "auflösen": .

"aufholen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "auflösen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufholenafuholen · auffholen · aufhholen · aufhloen · aufhoeln · aufholenn · aufhollen · aufholne

Frequency comparison

aufholen#27,629
auflösen#9,851

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufholen" and "auflösen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhoːlən] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌløːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aufholen" or "auflösen"?
"auflösen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,851 in our German list, against #27,629 for "aufholen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aufholen vs auflösen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aufholen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list