Which to use
“aufmachen” and “aufwachsen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,678
- “aufmachen” frequency rank
- #17,224
- “aufwachsen” frequency rank
- 25902
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aufmachen | aufwachsen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas öffnen | vom Kind ins Erwachsenenalter heranwachsen |
Where the eye mixes aufmachen and aufwachsen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. aufmachen runs 9 letters (VVCCVCCVC) against aufwachsen's 10 (VVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses aufmachen with aufwachsen
A purely visual mix-up. aufmachen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌmaxn̩]) and aufwachsen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌvaksn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25902, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aufmachen is recorded at frequency rank #8,678, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌmaxn̩]. aufwachsen is at rank #17,224, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌvaksn̩].
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 25902, this pair ranks #1,826,253 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aufmachen vs aufwachsen
Shared letters: acefhnu. Private to "aufmachen": m. Private to "aufwachsen": sw.
"aufmachen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC · "aufwachsen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aufmachen ← afumachen · aufamchen · auffmachen · aufmacchen · aufmacehn · aufmachenn · aufmachhen · aufmachne
- aufwachsen ← afuwachsen · aufawchsen · auffwachsen · aufwacchsen · aufwachesn · aufwachhsen · aufwachsenn · aufwachsne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aufmachen" for "aufwachsen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "aufmachen" or "aufwachsen" 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 "aufmachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aufwachsen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,826,253 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aufmachen" and "aufwachsen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufwache vs aufwachsen". 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 #1,826,253 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.