aufhörenvsauflösenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,483
“aufhören” frequency rank
#9,851
“auflösen” frequency rank
12334
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufhören auflösen
Definition mit einer Handlung oder Handlungsweise nicht weitermachen eine Ansammlung zerstreuen

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
aufhören
8 ch
auflösen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. aufhören ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːʁən]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12334, 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]. 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 12334, this pair ranks #1,964,790 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aufhören vs auflösen

Shared letters: aefnuö. Private to "aufhören": hr. Private to "auflösen": ls.

"aufhören" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "auflösen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

aufhören#2,483
auflösen#9,851

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aufhören" and "auflösen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌhøːʁən] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌløːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aufhören" or "auflösen"?
"aufhören" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,483 in our German list, against #9,851 for "auflösen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aufhören 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 “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