Which to use
“auflösen” is a verb and “Auslöser” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,851
- “auflösen” frequency rank
- #9,682
- “Auslöser” frequency rank
- 19533
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | auflösen | Auslöser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Ansammlung zerstreuen | Zündvorrichtung für einen Sprengsatz |
Where the eye mixes auflösen and Auslöser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. auflösen and Auslöser follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between auflösen and Auslöser
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: auflösen is [ˈaʊ̯fˌløːzn̩] while Auslöser is [ˈaʊ̯sˌløːzɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
auflösen is recorded at frequency rank #9,851, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌløːzn̩]. Auslöser is at rank #9,682, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯sˌløːzɐ].
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 19533, this pair ranks #1,907,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of auflösen vs Auslöser
Shared letters: aelsuö. Private to "auflösen": fn. Private to "Auslöser": r.
"auflösen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC · "Auslöser" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "auflösen" and "Auslöser" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "auflösen" or "Auslöser" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "auflösen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Auslöser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,907,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "auflösen" and "Auslöser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "auflisten vs auflösen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,907,347 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.