aufmunternvsAufmunterungTell them apart

Quick tell: aufmuntern is a verb, Aufmunterung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aufmuntern” is a verb and “Aufmunterung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,222
“aufmuntern” frequency rank
#47,960
“Aufmunterung” frequency rank
95182
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufmuntern Aufmunterung
Definition versuchen, jemandem mehr Freude oder Fröhlichkeit zu geben Versuch, jemandem mehr Freude, Mut zu geben

Where the eye mixes aufmuntern and Aufmunterung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

10 ch
aufmuntern
12 ch
Aufmunterung

Visual trap between aufmuntern and Aufmunterung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aufmuntern is [ˈaʊ̯fˌmʊntɐn] while Aufmunterung is [ˈaʊ̯fˌmʊntəʁʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 95182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufmuntern is recorded at frequency rank #47,222, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌmʊntɐn]. Aufmunterung is at rank #47,960, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌmʊntəʁʊŋ].

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 95182, this pair ranks #12,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of aufmuntern vs Aufmunterung

Shared letters: aefmnrtu. Private to "aufmuntern": -. Private to "Aufmunterung": g.

"aufmuntern" · 10 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Aufmunterung" · 12 letters · shape VVCCVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufmunternafumuntern · auffmuntern · aufmmuntern · aufmnutern · aufmunetrn · aufmunntern · aufmuntenr · aufmunternn
  • Aufmunterungafumunterung · auffmunterung · aufmmunterung · aufmnuterung · aufmunetrung · aufmunnterung · aufmunternug · aufmunterrung

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "aufmuntern" for "Aufmunterung" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aufmuntern" is a verb and "Aufmunterung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aufmuntern" or "Aufmunterung"?
"aufmuntern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #47,222 in our German list, against #47,960 for "Aufmunterung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufmuntern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Aufmunterung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #12,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #12,834 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list