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 eye mixes aufholen and auflösen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. aufholen and auflösen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses aufholen with auflösen
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": sö.
"aufholen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC · "auflösen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aufholen ← afuholen · auffholen · aufhholen · aufhloen · aufhoeln · aufholenn · aufhollen · aufholne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aufholen" for "auflösen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "aufholen" or "auflösen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufholen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "auflösen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,589,108 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufholen" and "auflösen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufholen 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 #1,589,108 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.