Which to use
“aufladen” and “auftauen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,812
- “aufladen” frequency rank
- #41,662
- “auftauen” frequency rank
- 59474
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufladen | auftauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas auf etwas – meist ein Fahrzeug – bringen, heben oder laden | Gefrorenes vom Eis befreien, schmelzen^([2]) |
Where the eye mixes aufladen and auftauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. aufladen (VVCCVCVC) and auftauen (VVCCVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses aufladen with auftauen
A purely visual mix-up. aufladen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌlaːdn̩]) and auftauen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtaʊ̯ən]) 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 59474, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufladen is recorded at frequency rank #17,812, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌlaːdn̩]. auftauen is at rank #41,662, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtaʊ̯ən].
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 59474, this pair ranks #823,211 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aufladen vs auftauen
Shared letters: aefnu. Private to "aufladen": dl. Private to "auftauen": t.
"aufladen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC · "auftauen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "aufladen" and "auftauen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "aufladen" or "auftauen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aufladen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "auftauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #823,211 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufladen" and "auftauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Aufbauten vs auftauen". 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 #823,211 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.