AufsehenvsaufsuchenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#10,419
“Aufsehen” frequency rank
#13,097
“aufsuchen” frequency rank
23516
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Aufsehen aufsuchen
Definition besondere öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit sich zu einem bestimmten Ort begeben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Aufsehen and aufsuchen apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
Aufsehen
9 ch
aufsuchen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Aufsehen is [ˈaʊ̯fˌzeːən] while aufsuchen is [ˈaʊ̯fˌzuːxn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Aufsehen is recorded at frequency rank #10,419, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌzeːən]. aufsuchen is at rank #13,097, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌzuːxn̩].

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 23516, this pair ranks #1,860,297 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Aufsehen vs aufsuchen

Shared letters: aefhnsu. Private to "Aufsehen": -. Private to "aufsuchen": c.

"Aufsehen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVCVC  ·  "aufsuchen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Aufsehenafusehen · aufeshen · auffsehen · aufseehn · aufsehenn · aufsehhen · aufsehne · aufsheen
  • aufsuchenafusuchen · auffsuchen · aufscuhen · aufssuchen · aufsucchen · aufsucehn · aufsuchenn · aufsuchhen

Frequency comparison

Aufsehen#10,419
aufsuchen#13,097

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Aufsehen" and "aufsuchen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Aufsehen" is a noun and "aufsuchen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Aufsehen" or "aufsuchen"?
"Aufsehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,419 in our German list, against #13,097 for "aufsuchen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Aufsehen vs aufsuchen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Aufsehen”; for a verb, it's “aufsuchen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Aufsehen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list