auftauenvsauftragenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#41,662
“auftauen” frequency rank
#28,529
“auftragen” frequency rank
70191
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature auftauen auftragen
Definition Gefrorenes vom Eis befreien, schmelzen^([2]) Speisen auf dem Tisch servieren; ein Thema ansprechen

Where the eye mixes auftauen and auftragen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. auftauen runs 8 letters (VVCCVVVC) against auftragen's 9 (VVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
auftauen
9 ch
auftragen

Visual trap between auftauen and auftragen

A purely visual mix-up. auftauen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtaʊ̯ən]) and auftragen ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 70191, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

auftauen is recorded at frequency rank #41,662, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtaʊ̯ən]. auftragen is at rank #28,529, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːɡn̩].

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 70191, this pair ranks #453,778 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of auftauen vs auftragen

Shared letters: aefntu. Private to "auftauen": -. Private to "auftragen": gr.

"auftauen" · 8 letters · shape VVCCVVVC  ·  "auftragen" · 9 letters · shape VVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • auftauen ← afutauen · aufatuen · aufftauen · auftaeun · auftauenn · auftaune · aufttauen · auftuaen
  • auftragen ← afutragen · aufftragen · aufrtagen · auftargen · auftraegn · auftragenn · auftraggen · auftragne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "auftauen" and "auftragen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaʊ̯fˌtaʊ̯ən] versus [ˈaʊ̯fˌtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "auftauen" or "auftragen"?
"auftragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,529 in our German list, against #41,662 for "auftauen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "auftauen" and "auftragen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "auftauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "auftragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #453,778 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "auftauen" and "auftragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Aufbauten vs auftauen". 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 #453,778 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