aufsteigenvsaufsteigendeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: aufsteigen is a verb, aufsteigende is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aufsteigen” is a verb and “aufsteigende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,233
“aufsteigen” frequency rank
#43,020
“aufsteigende” frequency rank
55253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aufsteigen aufsteigende
Definition sich aus eigener Kraft oder mit Motorantrieb nach oben bewegen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs aufsteigend

Where the eye mixes aufsteigen and aufsteigende

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. aufsteigen runs 10 letters (VVCCCVVCVC) against aufsteigende's 12 (VVCCCVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
aufsteigen
12 ch
aufsteigende

Look-alike desk: aufsteigen vs aufsteigende

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aufsteigen is [ˈaʊ̯fˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩] while aufsteigende is [ˈaʊ̯fˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “aufsteigen” sits inside “aufsteigende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aufsteigen is recorded at frequency rank #12,233, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]. aufsteigende is at rank #43,020, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩də].

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 55253, this pair ranks #986,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aufsteigen vs aufsteigende

Shared letters: aefginstu. Private to "aufsteigen": -. Private to "aufsteigende": d.

"aufsteigen" · 10 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVC  ·  "aufsteigende" · 12 letters · shape VVCCCVVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aufsteigen ← afusteigen · auffsteigen · aufsetigen · aufssteigen · aufstegien · aufsteiegn · aufsteigenn · aufsteiggen
  • aufsteigende ← afusteigende · auffsteigende · aufsetigende · aufssteigende · aufstegiende · aufsteiegnde · aufsteigedne · aufsteigendde

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "aufsteigen" and "aufsteigende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "aufsteigen" is a verb and "aufsteigende" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "aufsteigen" or "aufsteigende"?
"aufsteigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,233 in our German list, against #43,020 for "aufsteigende". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aufsteigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aufsteigende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #986,746 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aufsteigen" and "aufsteigende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aufsteigend vs aufsteigende". 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 #986,746 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