aufhörenvsaufhörteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,483
“aufhören” frequency rank
#41,037
“aufhörte” frequency rank
43520
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufhören aufhörte
Definition mit einer Handlung oder Handlungsweise nicht weitermachen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs aufhören

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aufhören and aufhörte apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
aufhören
8 ch
aufhörte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. aufhören ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːʁən]) and aufhörte ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːɐ̯tə]) 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 43520, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufhören is recorded at frequency rank #2,483, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːʁən]. aufhörte is at rank #41,037, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːɐ̯tə].

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 43520, this pair ranks #1,415,475 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aufhören vs aufhörte

Shared letters: aefhruö. Private to "aufhören": n. Private to "aufhörte": t.

"aufhören" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "aufhörte" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCCV

Frequency comparison

aufhören#2,483
aufhörte#41,037

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufhören" and "aufhörte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːʁən] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːɐ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aufhören" or "aufhörte"?
"aufhören" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,483 in our German list, against #41,037 for "aufhörte". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering aufhören vs aufhörte

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 “aufhören” 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