AufsatzvsAufsätzeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#7,723
“Aufsatz” frequency rank
#12,662
“Aufsätze” frequency rank
20385
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Aufsatz Aufsätze
Definition kurze schriftliche Abhandlung Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Aufsatz

Where the eye mixes Aufsatz and Aufsätze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Aufsatz runs 7 letters (VVCCVCC) against Aufsätze's 8 (VVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
Aufsatz
8 ch
Aufsätze

Why the eye confuses Aufsatz with Aufsätze

A purely visual mix-up. Aufsatz ([ˈaʊ̯fˌzat͡s]) and Aufsätze ([ˈaʊ̯fˌzɛt͡sə]) 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 20385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Aufsatz is recorded at frequency rank #7,723, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌzat͡s]. Aufsätze is at rank #12,662, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌzɛt͡sə].

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 20385, this pair ranks #1,898,268 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Aufsatz vs Aufsätze

Shared letters: afstuz. Private to "Aufsatz": -. Private to "Aufsätze": eä.

"Aufsatz" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC  ·  "Aufsätze" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Aufsatz ← afusatz · aufastz · auffsatz · aufsattz · aufsatzz · aufsazt · aufssatz · aufstaz

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Aufsatz" for "Aufsätze" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌzat͡s] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌzɛt͡sə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Aufsatz" or "Aufsätze" show up more?
"Aufsatz" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,723 in our German list, against #12,662 for "Aufsätze". 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 "Aufsatz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Aufsätze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,898,268 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Aufsatz" and "Aufsätze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Aufsätze vs Aufsätzen". 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 #1,898,268 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